Ube IRural Science Series 

Edited by L. H. BAILEY 



FARM BOYS AND GIRLS 



Ejje Eural Science Scries 

The Soil. 

The Spraying of Plants. 

Milk and its Products. 

The Fertility of the Land. 

The Principles of Fruit-Growing. 

Bush-Fruits. 

Fertilizers. 

The Principles of Agriculture. 15th Ed. 

Irrigation and Drainage. 

The Farmstead. 

Rural Wealth and Welfare. 

The Principles of Vegetable-Gardening. 

Farm Poultry. 

The Feeding of Animals. 

The Farmer's Business Handbook. 

The Diseases of Animals. 

The Horse. 

How to Choose a Farm. 

Forage Crops. 

Bacteria in Relation to Country Life. 

The Nursery-Book. 

Plant-Breeding. 4th Ed. 

The Forcing-Book. 

The Pruning-Book. 

Fruit-Growing in Arid Regions. 

Rural Hygiene. 

Dry-Farming. 

Law for the American Farmer. 

Farm Boys and Girls. 

The Training and Breaking of Horses. 

Others in preparation. 



Plate I. 




FARM BOYS AND GIRLS 



BY 
WILLIAM A. McKEEVER 

PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE 



THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
1912 

All rights reserved 



*«* 



V 



COPYBIQHT, 1912, 

By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 



Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1911. 



yorfaoorj UrrtB 

J. 8. Cusbing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co. 

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A. 

&CLA3094 5 



DEDICATED 

TO THE SERVICE OF THE 

TEN MILLION BOYS AND GERLS 

WHO ARE ENROLLED IN 

TnE RURAL SCHOOLS 

OF AMERICA 



PREFACE 

In the preparation of this book I have had in 
mind two classes of readers; namely, the rural 
parents and the many persons who are interested in 
carrying forward the rural work discussed in the 
several chapters. It has been my aim to give as 
much specific aid and direction as possible. The 
first two chapters constitute a mere outline of some 
of the fundamental principles of child development. 
It would be fortunate if the reader who is unfa- 
miliar with such principles could have a course of 
reading in the volumes that treat them extensively. 
Nearly every suggestion given in the main body of 
the book is based on what has already either been 
undertaken with a degree of success or planned for 
in some rural community. 

I am very greatly indebted to the following per- 
sons and firms for their kindness and generosity in 
lending pictures and cuts for illustrating the book : 
E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, Topeka, Kansas ; J. W. Crabtree, 
Principal State Normal School, River Falls, Wis- 
consin ; George W. Brown, Superintendent of Edgar 
County, Paris, Illinois ; O. J. Kern, Superintendent 
of Winnebago County, Rockford, Illinois; Miss 



viii Preface 

Jessie Fields, Superintendent of Page County, Cla- 
rinda, Iowa; A. D. Holloway, General Secretary, 
County Y. M. C. A., Marysville, Kansas ; Dr. Myron 
T. Scudder, of Rutgers College; Doubleday, Page 
& Company, Garden City, New York ; Rural Man- 
hood, New York City ; The Farmer's Voice, Chicago, 
Illinois ; The America?! Agriculturist, New York City ; 
The Oklahoma Farmer, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; 
The Inland Farmer, Lexington, Kentucky ; The 
Farmer s Advocate, Winnipeg, Canada. 

My thanks are also due Successful Farming, of 
Des Moines, Iowa, for permission to use excerpts 
from President Kirk's article on the model school, 
and portions of a series of brief articles written for 
the same magazine by myself. 

The references given at the close of the chapters 
have been selected with considerable care. It will 
be found in nearly every case that they give help- 
ful and more extended discussions of the several 
topics treated in the preceding chapter. 

WILLIAM A. McKEEVER. 

Manhattan, Kansas. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 

I. Building a Good Life . 


What is a Good Life ? . 






1. Good Health 






2. Usefulness 






3. Moral Strength 






4. Social Efficiency . 






5. Religious Interest 






6. Happiness 







Is the Human Stock comparatively Sound ? 

II. The Time to Build .... 
What of the Human Instincts 
The Dawning Instincts .... 
Social Sensitiveness Helpful . 

III. The Rural Home and Character Development 

What Agencies build up Character ? 

1. Play .... 

2. Work .... 

3. Recreation 
Moving to Town for the Children 
A Back-to-the-country Club . 

IV. The Country Mother and the Children 

Poor Conditions of Women . 
For the Sake of the Children . 

1. Surplus Nerve Energy . 

2. A Rest Period 

3. The Home Conveniences 

4. The Mother's Outings . 

5. The Home Help . 



Table of Contents 



6. The Children shield the Mother 

7. Planning for the Children . 

8. A Common Conspiracy 

V. Constructing the Country Dwelling 
Plans and Specifications not Available 
What appeals to the Children 
The House Plan 
How One Farmer does It . 
Outbuildings and Equipment 
Human Rights prior to Animal Rights 
The Children's Room 
The Evening Hour 

VI. Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home 

How Good Thinking grows up and Flourishes 
Types of Literature . 
A Selected List .... 
Literature on Child-rearing 

1. Periodicals on Child-rearing 

2. Books on Child-rearing 

VII. The Rural Church and the Young People 
Decadence of Rural Life 
Work for the Ministry 
The Country Minister 
A Mistake in Training 
Rural Child-rearing . 
The Churches too Narrow 
Constructive Work of the Church 
An Innovation in the Rural Church 
Spiritualize Child Life 
A Summary .... 

VIIL The Transformation of the Rural ScnooL 

Radical Changes in the View-point and Method 
All have a Right to Culture 



49 
50 
51 

54 
55 
57 
59 
60 
61 
61 
64 
67 

69 
70 
72 
75 
79 
80 
80 

82 
83 
84 
86 
89 
90 
92 
93 
95 
97 
98 

101 
102 
103 



Table of Contents 



XI 



Work for a Longer Term .... 


PAGE 

. 105 


Compulsory Attendance Laws Needed . 


106 


Better Schoolhouses and Equipment 


107 


1. Location ...... 


. 108 


2. The Water Supply .... 


. 109 


3. Size and Adaptation of Grounds . 


109 


4. Improvement of School Grounds . 


110 


A Model Rural School 


112 


The Cornell Schoolhouse .... 


115 


Help make a School Play Ground . 


117 


General Instruction in Agriculture 


120 


Domestic Economy and Home Sanitation 


122 


Consolidation of Rural Schools 


123 


More High Schools Needed .... 


124 


Better Rural Teachers Needed 


125 


he County Young Men's Christian Associa- 




tion 


129 


Boys leave the Farm too Young . 


130 


Purposes of the County Young Men's Christian 




Association 


131 


How to organize a County Organization 


132 


1. Select a Good Leader .... 


133 


2. Local Leaders Necessary 


134 


3. A Committee on Finance 


134 


4. Little Property Ownership 


135 


How to conduct the Work .... 


136 


1. Local and County Athletic Clubs . 


136 


2. Debating and Literary Clubs 


137 


3. Receptions and Suppers 


138 


4. Educational Tours and Problems . 


138 


5. Camping and Hiking 


139 


6. Exhibitions ...... 


139 


Spirituality not lost Sight Of 


141 


Work in a sparsely Settled Country 


143 



Xll 



Table of Contents 



CHAPTER PAGE 

X. The Farmer and his Wife as Leaders op the 

Young 146 

Preparation for the Service .... 147 

Work persistently for Social Unity . . . 149 
Corn-raising and Bread-baking Clubs . . 150 

Other Forms of Contests ..... 151 
The Improvement of the School Situation . . 152 
Home and School Play Problems . . . 154 
A Neighborhood Library . . . . .156 
Holidays and Recreation for the Young . . 158 
Many over-work their Children . . . .160 
Federation for Country-life Progress . . .161 
The Vocations of Boys and Girls . . .162 
Other Local Possibilities ..... 164 
The Boy Scout Movement . . . .165 

Rural Boy Scouts in Kansas . . . .166 

XI. How Much Work for the Country Boy . 171 

See that the Work is fur the Boy's Sake . .172 

Not Enforced Labor, but Mastery . . .174 

Provide Vacations for the Boy . . . .176 

A Tentative Schedule of Hours . . . .178 

Think out a Reasonable Plan . . . .179 

XII. How Much Work for the Country Girl . 183 

A Balanced Life for the Girl . . . .185 

Work begins with Obedience . . . .186 

Working the Girls in the Field . . . .188 

Some Specific Suggestions 189 

Do you Own your Daughter ? . . . .190 

Difficult to make a Schedule . . . .191 

Teach the Girl Self -supremacy . . . .192 

Summary . . . . . . . .194 

XIII. Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls . 197 

A Happy Mean is Needed 197 

A Social Renaissance in the Country . . . 199 



Table of Contents 



xin 



CHAPTER PAGE 

Conditions to guard Against .... 200 

1. The Social Companionship of Girls . . 201 

2. Bad Companionships for Boys . . . 202 

3. Secret Sex Habits 204 

4. The So-called Bad Habits .... 205 
A Center of Community Life . . . . 207 
Invite the Young to the House .... 208 
How to conduct a Social Entertainment . . 209 
What about the Country Dance ? . . .211 
Additional Forms of Entertainment . . . 212 

1. The Social Hour at the Religious Services 212 

2. A Country Literary Society . . ' . 213 

3. The Social Side of the Economic Clubs . 215 
Some Concluding Suggestions .... 215 

XIV. The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business . 220 

What is in your Boy ? 220 

Much Experimentation Necessary . . . 221 

1. Willingness to Work 222 

2. Ability to Save 223 

Start on a Small Scale 224 

Give your Son a Square Deal .... 225 
Keep the Boy's Perfect Good Will . . .226 

Some will be retained on the Farm . . . 227 

The Awakening often comes from Without . 229 

An Awakening in the South .... 229 
Partnership between Father and Son . . .231 

Summary and Concluding Suggestions . . 232 

XV. Business Training for the Country Girl . 235 

Is the Country Girl Neglected ? ... 236 

Why the Girl leaves the Farm .... 237 

Certain Rules to be Observed .... 239 

1. Teach the Girl to Work . . . .239 

2. Teach her Business Sense .... 240 

3. Train her to transact Personal Business . 241 



XIV 



Table of Contents 



XVI. 



XVII. 



xvm. 



4. Make her the Family Accountant 

5. Miserliness to be Avoided 

6. Teach her to Give . 

7. Teach the Meaning of a Contract 

8. Prepare her to deal with Grafters 
Should there be an Actual Investment ? 

What Schooling should the Country 

Have 

Changes in Rural School Conditions 
The Boy a Bundle of Possibilities 
Classes of Native Ability . 
The Great Talented Class 
Round out the Boy's Nature . 
Other Important Matters 
Develop an Interest in Humanity 

What Schooling should the Country 

Have 

Special Problems relating to the Girl 
Protecting the Girl at School . 
Lessons in Music and Art 
The Reward will come in Time 
The Mother's Office as Teacher 
Home-life Education 
Education for Supremacy 
An Outlook for Social Life 

The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 
Should the Farmer's Son Farm ? 
Impatience of Parents 
What of Predestination ? . 
Three Methods of Vocational Training 

1. The Apprentice Method . 

2. The Cultural Method 

3. The Developmental Method . 
The Farmer Fortunate 



Boy 



Girl 



PAQH 

242 
243 
244 
245 
246 
247 

250 
250 
252 
253 
254 
256 
257 
259 

262 
262 
263 
265 
267 
268 
270 
271 
272 

275 
275 
276 
277 
279 
280 
280 
281 
282 



Table of Contents 



xv 



What College for the Country Boy ? . . .283 

The Foundation in Work 284 

Clean up the Place 285 

Money Value of an Agricultural Education . 286 
A Successful Vocation Certain .... 287 

XIX. The Fabm Girl's Preparation for a Vocation 290 

What is the Outlook ? 290 

Desirable Occupations for Women 

1. May teach the Young . . . .293 

2. May take up Stenography . . . 294 

3. May do Social Work 295 

4. May secure Clerkships .... 296 
A College Course for the Girl . . . .298 
Associations with Refined Young Men . . 299 
Make the Daughter Attractive .... 300 
Summary and Conclusion 301 



XX. Conclusion and Future Outlook 
Strive for Preconceived Results 
Consult Expert Advice 
Meet Each Awakening Interest 
Work for Social Democracy 
The Outlook very Promising 
The Modern Service Training 
The State doing its Part 
The New Era of Religion . 
Final Conclusion 
Index 



306 
306 
308 
310 
311 
312 
314 
316 
319 
319 
323 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



PLATB 
I. 



II. 
III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XI. 



xn. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 

XIX. 

XX. 

XXI. 

XXII. 



Fig. 1. At least once each day the busy farm 
father may think of a way to combine his 
work with the children's play . Frontispiece 



FACING PAGE 



Fig. 2. Canadian boys breaking young oxen 
Fig. 3. An attractive Kansas home . 
Fig. 4. A day nursery in the country 
Fig. 5. A rural home in the South 
Fig. 6. A well-equipped farmhouse 
Fig. 7. Children playing under the shade trees 
Figs. 8-9. Rural church, Plainfield, Illinois 
Fig. 10. Village church at Ogden, Kansas . 
Fig. 11. Corn Sunday in an Illinois church 
Fig. 12. A country schoolhouse in California 
Fig. 13. Type of model rural school used in 
Kansas ....... 

Fig. 14. Model rural school at Kirksville, Mis 
souri. Normal ..... 

Fig. 15. Rear view of the Kirksville school 
Fig. 16. Using Babcock tester . 
Figs. 17-21. Consolidated school and those i 
displaced ...... 

Fig. 22. The Cornell rural schoolhouse 

A.Y.M.C.A. play club . 

Y.M.C.A. Convention in Ohio 

Jerry Moore, champion corn raiser 

A lonely schoolhouse 

Tennis in the country . 

Country play festival . 

Industrial exhibit in rural school . 



Fig. 23. 
Fig. 24. 
Fig. 25. 
Fig. 26. 
Fig 27. 
Fig. 28. 
Fig. 29. 



6*" 

28 
42 
50 

64*-' 
72^ 
86""" 
92 </ 
96 V 
108 ^ 

108*- 

112"' 
114 ^ 
120 

124^ 
126^ 
132 l 

138 
150 r 

104 
180 
180 
192 



xviii 




Illustrations 








PLATE 




PAGE 


XXIII. 


Fig. 30. 


Agricultural and domestic science club 208 


XXIV. 


Fig. 81. 


School and church in Canada . . 212 


XXV. 


Fig. 32. 


Kansas prize winners 




230 


XXVI. 


Fig. 33. 


Girls' doll display 






238' 


XXVII. 


Fig. 34. 


Boys whittling . 






252 ' 


XXVIII. 


Fig. 35. 


Study of corn 






256' 


XXIX. 


Fig. 36. 


School gardeners 






270- 


XXX. 


Fig. 37. 


Country schoolgirls . 






290 1 


XXXI. 


Fig. 38. 


A girls' class in sewing 






300 


XXXII. 


Fig. 39. 


Girl sowing seed 






312 v 




Fig. 40. 


Boy thinning vegetables 






312 



FARM BOYS AND GIRLS 



FARM BOYS AND GIRLS 

CHAPTER I 

BUILDING A GOOD LIFE 

If you were about to begin the construction of a 
dwelling house, what questions would most likely 
be uppermost in your mind ? If this house were 
intended for your own use, you would doubtless 
consider among other important matters those of 
comfort, convenience of arrangement, attractiveness 
of appearance, strength, and durableness. The great 
variety of dwellings to be seen on every hand is 
outwardly expressive of the great variety of ideals 
in the minds of the people who construct them. No 
matter what means there may be available for the 
purpose, it may be said that he who builds a house 
thereby illustrates in concrete form his inner char- 
acter. 

With practically the same quality of materials, 
one man will construct a house apparently with the 
thought that its chief purpose is to be looked at. 
Much work and expense will be put upon outer 
show and embellishment, while in its inner arrange- 
ments it may be exceedingly cramped and thought- 
lessly put together. Another will erect his building 



2 Building a Good Life 

with a thought of placing it on the market. Cheap 
workmanship, weak and faulty joinings, and the like, 
will be concealed by some thin covering meant to 
last until a profitable sale has been made and some 
innocent purchaser caught with a mere shell of a 
house in his possession. Occasionally, however, 
there is found a man whose plans conform to such 
ideals as those first named. 

What is a good life? 

As with the construction of a house, so it is in 
some measure with the building of a character. 
Some lives apparently are constructed to look at ; 
that is, with the thought that outer adornment 
and a mere appearance of worth and beauty con- 
stitute the essential qualities. Other lives are, in a 
sense, made to sell. Not infrequently parents are 
found developing their boys and girls as if the chief 
purpose were to place them somewhere or other in 
the best possible money market. A life is worth 
only as much as it will bring in dollars and cents, is 
apparently the predominating thought of such per- 
sons. And then, occasionally, a life is built to live 
in; that is, with the idea that intrinsic worth con- 
stitutes the essential nature of the ideal character. 

But what is a good life ? And why is not this 
precisely the question for all parents to ask them- 
selves at the time they begin the development of the 
lives of their own boys and girls ? Assuming a 



Elements of a Good Life 3 

fairly sound physical and mental inheritance on the 
part of the child and the given environment as the 
raw materials of construction, what ideals should 
parents have uppermost in mind before undertaking 
the tremendously important and interesting duties 
of constructing worthy manhood and womanhood 
out of the inherent natures of their children ? 

1. Good health. — It is a difficult task to develop 
a sound, efficient life without the fundamental 
quality of good health. So it may be well to remind 
parents of this fact and to urge them especially to 
avoid in the lives of the children, first, the beginnings 
of those lighter ailments which frequently grow into 
menacing habits — for example, the diseases that 
become chronic as a result of unnecessary exposure 
to the weather — and second, those various con- 
tagious diseases which so often permanently deplete 
the health of children, such as scarlet fever and 
whooping cough. It is now held by medical 
authority that every reasonable effort should be 
made to prevent children from taking such infectious 
ailments — that the so-called diseases of children can 
and should be practically all avoided. 

2. Usefulness. — The newer ideals of character- 
building call for the early training of all children as 
if they were to enter permanently upon some bread- 
winning pursuit. Such training is a most direct 
means of culture and refinement, provided it be cor- 
related with the proper amount of book learning and 



4 Building a Good Life 

play and recreation. Such uniform and character- 
building discipline tends to preserve the solidarity of 
the race, and to acquaint all the young with the 
thoughts and feeling of the great productive classes. 
It may be this is now regarded as both a direct 
means of culture and of leading the young mind 
into an intimate acquaintance with the lives of the 
masses. Such training is regarded also as one of 
the best means of preserving our social democracy. 
Therefore, although on account of inherited wealth 
the child may apparently be destined for a life of 
comparative ease, even then there is every justifi- 
cation for teaching him early how to work as if he 
must do so to earn his own living. Much more will 
be said about this point later. 

3. Moral strength. — In the construction of a good 
life, moral strength must be estimated as one of the 
important foundation stones. But this quality is not 
so much a gift of nature or an inheritance as it is an 
acquisition. It cannot be bought or acquired through 
merely hearing about it, but it must come as a result 
of a large number of experiences of trial and error. 
The child acquires moral self-reliance from the prac- 
tice of overcoming temptation in proportion to his 
strength, the test being made heavier as fast as his 
ability to withstand temptation increases. As will 
be shown later, it proves weakening to the charac- 
ter of the growing child to keep him entirely free 
from temptation and the possible contamination of 



What is a Good Life? 5 

his character in order that he may grow up 
"good." 

4. Social efficiency. — The good life is not merely 
self-sustaining in an economic way, but it is also 
trained in the performance of altruistic deeds. In 
building up the lives of the young it will be nec- 
essary and most helpful to think of the matter of 
social efficiency. Therefore, it will be seen to that the 
child have practice in assuming the leadership among 
his fellows, in taking the initiative on many little 
occasions, and in some instances to the extent of 
standing out against the combined sentiment of his 
young associates. Of course, during all this time he 
will be backed strongly by the advice and the insistent 
direction of his parents, the idea being to induce him 
to think out his own social problems and to carry 
forward any suitable plans of a social nature that he 
may devise. 

5. Religions interest. — Few parents will deny 
that religious instruction is just as essential to the 
development of a good society as is intellectual 
instruction. Indeed, there is much evidence to bear 
out the conviction that religion is a deep and per- 
manent instinct in all normal human beings. This 
being the case, it is fair to say that such an instinct 
should have some form of awakening and indulgence 
in the life of the child. However, there is no thought 
or intention of prescribing any particular form of 
religious faith. He might at least be sent to Sunday 



6 Building a Good Life 

school and to church regularly where he may be 
led to do a small amount of religious thinking on 
his own account. 

6. Happiness. — The good life is a happy life. 
But nearly all the students of human problems seem 
to think that happiness eludes the grasp of the one 
who seeks it in a direct way. "I want my children 
to be happy and enjoy life," is often the remark 
of well-meaning parents. They then proceed as if 
joy and happiness could be had for money. It is 
true that during his early years of indifference to any 
serious concern or personal responsibility, the child 
may be made extremely happy by giving him prac- 
tically everything his childish appetites may call for 
and allowing him to grow up in idleness. But there 
comes a time when the normal individual begins to 
question his own personal and intrinsic worth. The 
instincts and desires of mature life come on and if 
there be not available the means for the realization 
of the better instinctive ambitions, then bitterness 
and woe are likely to become one's permanent por- 
tion. 

However, it may be put down as a certainty that 
happiness and contentment will naturally come in 
full measure into the life that has been well built 
during the years of childhood and youth. If the 
good health has been conserved, a life of usefulness 
and service prepared for, moral strength built into 
the character, social efficiency looked after continu- 



Plate II. 




a >> 



a 5 






5 a 



5 j6 



-C 3 

o3 -a 
a a 



The Human Stock Sound 7 

ously, and something of religious experience not 
neglected — it will most certainly follow as the day 
follows the night that the wholesome enjoyments 
and the durable satisfactions of living will come to 
such an individual. 

Is THE HUMAN STOCK COMPARATIVELY SOUND ? 

There are now among the students of the home 
problems many who are seriously interested in the 
matter of breeding a better human stock. Many 
noteworthy conclusions have already been reached, 
and ample proofs have been produced to show 
that the human animal follows the same general 
lines of evolution as do the lower animal orders. It 
is shown in general, for example, that little or noth- 
ing that man has learned or acquired during his life 
is transmitted to his offspring. That is, even though 
a man devote many years to the intensive study of 
music or mathematics or the languages, such study 
will not affect the ability of his child in the study of 
the specialized subject. The same unaffected result 
obtains in respect to any other form of expertness 
of the merely acquired sort. For example, the fact 
that a man through long practice becomes expert 
in the use of the typewriter does not affect the char- 
acter of the child in respect to such ability. It is a 
no less difficult task for the child to learn to master 
the use of the typewriter keyboard. 

On the other hand, it is shown very conclusively 



8 Building a Good Life 

that physical and mental characters inborn in the 
life of a parent tend at all times to be transmitted 
to the child, although many traits are known to be 
wanting in the first generation of children and to 
appear in the second or successive generations. Ac- 
cording to the law of Mendel, the traits of the parents 
are transmitted to the child about as follows : one- 
half of the elements of one's physical and mental 
natures are inherited from his parents, one-fourth 
from his grandparents, one-eighth from his great- 
grandparents, and so on. In any given case, how- 
ever, there might be great variation from this rule 
of the averages, just as actual men and women vary 
more or less widely from the average human height 
of so many feet and inches. 

There is no thought here of discussing the intricate 
problems of eugenics. The purpose of this brief 
dogmatic sketch is that of attempting to induce 
parents to believe that the great mass of our Ameri- 
can-born children are comparatively sound in their 
physical and mental inheritances. The patholo- 
gists profess to be able to prove that nature is most 
kind to the new-born child in respect to inheritance 
of disease. In fact, it is shown that very few dis- 
eases are directly transmitted through the blood, 
and that many once so regarded are now found to 
be infectious in their natures. There is considerable 
indication, however, that the children of the diseased 
— tuberculous parents, for example, — inherit a 



Origin of Leaders 9 

weakened power of resistance for such disease. But 
this matter is somewhat foreign to our present dis- 
cussion. 

Best of all, for our present consideration, is the 
great mass of evidence sustaining the theory that 
about ninety-nine per cent of our new-born infants 
are potentially good in an economic and moral sense. 
That is to say, this great majority of the young 
humanity have latent within their natures at the 
beginning of life the possibilities of development 
into sound, self-reliant manhood and womanhood. 

So, the writer of these lines would gladly lead rural 
parents to the point of being very courageous and 
optimistic about their infant children. He would 
have them see in the latter all the possibilities of 
good and efficiency that they may care to attempt 
to bring out by thoughtful and conscientious train- 
ing. For that matter, it can be shown that many of 
the leaders of men are constantly springing up out 
of the ranks of the common masses and from 
those of humble parentage. Some of these great 
leaders, it is true, are what may be called accidental 
geniuses in respect to their native strength and their 
persistent life purposes. But many others, and 
perhaps the majority of them, are merely men and 
women who have been reasonably sound at birth 
and who have been trained from childhood to matu- 
rity in a manner that best served to build up strong, 
efficient character. 



10 Building a Good Life 

REFERENCES 

The references given at the close of each chapter are meant to direct 

the reader to specific treatment of the topics named. It is thought 

that nearly every chapter or book referred to will be found helpful and 

instructive to such persons as may naturally become interested in this 

volume. In some instances a line of comment is given to make clearer 

the contents of the reference. 

Must Children have Children's Diseases ? Newton. Ladies' Home 
Journal, April, 1910. 

Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette. Gazette Publishing Company, New 
York. $1 per year, monthly. 

The Miracle of Life. J. H. Kellogg, M.D. Good Health Publishing 
Company, Battle Creek, Mich. Read especially pp. 363-388, 
"How to be Strong." 

Our Duty to Posterity. Editorial. The Independent, February, 1909. 

Relation of Science to Man. Professor A. W. Small. American Journal 
of Sociology, February, 1908. 

Character Building. Marian M. George. A. Flanagan Company. 
Treats the ethical problems of the home. 

Through Boyhood to Manhood. Ennis Richmond. Chapter I, "Use- 
fulness." Longmans. 

Making the Most of Our Children. Mary Wood-Allen, M.D. Chapter 
IX, "Keeping the Boy on the Farm." McClurg. 

Youth. G. Stanley Hall. Chapter XII, "Moral and Religious Train- 
ing." Appleton. 

The Contents of a Boy. E.L.Moore. Chapter VI, "Social Interests. " 
Jennings & Graham, Cincinnati. 

Mind in the Making. E. J. Swift. Chapter II, "The Criminal Natures 
of Boys." Scribners. 

The Young Malefactor. Dr. Thomas Travis. Chapter II, "The Child 
born Centuries Too Late." Crowell. 

The Family Health. M. Solis-Cohen, M.D. Chapter I, "The Preserva- 
tion of Health." Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia. 

The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Dr. Charles W. Eliot. Crowell. 
Points out ably the higher way. 

The Study of Children. Francis Warner, M.D. Chapter IV, "Observ- 



Literature on Building a Good Life 11 

ing the Child. What to Look at and For." The Macmillan 
Company. 

What makes a Liberal Education. Editorial. The Independent, July 1, 
1909. 

Relation of the Physical Nature of the Child to His Mental and Moral 
Development. George W. Reed. Annual Report National Educa- 
tional Association, 1909, p. 305. 



CHAPTER II 

THE TIME TO BUILD 

We shall continue to assume that the reader, if a 
parent, is thinking of his child as being in the posi- 
tion of one whose character requires constant atten- 
tion in order that it may be built up through the 
right sort of training and the right sort of practices. 
Just as certainly as there is a best time in the season 
to plow corn and also a time not to plow, as there is 
a time to plow deep and another time to plow shal- 
low, so there is unquestionably a best time to give 
the child any particular form of training or to with- 
hold it. In general, it may be said that the most 
effective training in respect to the human young is 
that which centers most closely around the childish 
interests and instincts. 

What of the human instincts 

By observing critically for a few days the conduct 
of an infant child, one may notice two or three pro- 
nounced instincts at work producing helpful results 
in the little life. 

1. There is the instinct to nurse, which is so funda- 
mental in securing the food with which to sustain 
and build up the body. 

12 



The Instincts 13 

2. There is the accessory instinct of crying, also 
often necessary as nature's signal for another intake 
of the food supply. Associated with these two in- 
stincts are a number of reflexes which take care of 
the important organic processes, such as digestion, 
assimilation, and excretion. Now, we have prac- 
tically all there is to the "character" of the human 
infant. He has, as yet, no instinct for fighting, for 
sexual love, or for business. And any effort to arouse 
and make use of the last-named dormant qualities 
would be futile as well as ridiculous. In respect to a 
vast majority of the things to be learned, the child 
is a mere bundle of potentialities, all of which must 
bide their time for an awakening. In short, wise 
parents soon learn that the center of life in the infant 
child is in the stomach, and that if he be fed rightly, 
kept much in the open air, clothed comfortably, and 
bathed frequently, the body-building processes will 
usually go on in a satisfactory manner. 

3. Although the little life seems so tiny and the 
daily round of infantile activities so simple and mo- 
notonous, the character-developing processes are al- 
ready making their subtle beginnings. For example, 
the first lessons in habit are being inculcated through 
the comparative rhythm in the infant's life. It will 
be found both conducive to good health and helpful 
to character-development to attend to all the infant's 
needs with strict regularity. Let us follow the new- 
born child around his little cycle and see what hap- 



14 The Time to Build 

pens. First, he is given a hearty meal, which is 
followed at once by perhaps two hours of profound 
sleep. Then, there is a gradual waking, the body 
writhes and wiggles slightly, and then more, and then 
still more, until a loud cry is set up. Under healthy 
conditions the crying should go on for a very few 
minutes, as it helps to send the good blood through 
every part of the body, purifying and building up 
the parts and carrying out the effete matter. The 
function of excretion is not only thus much aided, 
but the nervous equilibrium is completely restored. 
The little life has now swung completely round to 
the beginning point of two hours previously and it is 
ready to start on another journey with the intake 
of another hearty meal. 

It will be found that the life circle described above 
continues with slight variations for the first few weeks, 
the child sleeping probably twenty to twenty-two 
hours out of twenty-four, if it be in a natural state 
of health. But slowly the conduct of the infant will 
become more complex, and that in response to the 
growths and changes taking place within his body. 
It will be found that he can take a heartier meal, 
can stay awake longer, kick harder, wriggle more, and 
cry louder as the days multiply. In a month or so 
his eyes will be seen following some brilliant or attrac- 
tive moving body, while the impulsive movements 
of the hands will begin to suggest some slight defini- 
tion of their conduct. Not long thereafter, the baby 



Instincts and Learning 15 

smile will break out in a reflex fashion and the hands 
will likewise grasp objects placed in the little palms. 
Coordinate with these new activities, nature is at 
work storing up new nerve structures and cells, es- 
pecially in the region of the spinal cord and the cranial 
centers. 

4. The child is all the while learning. As yet, 
there is little for the caretaker to do other than to 
feed the infant with exceeding care and regularity, 
and to enjoy the awakening of the new infant ac- 
tivities. In four to six months, the young learner 
will lead a much more complex life, — sitting alone, 
holding things in his hands, and looking about the 
room. But it must be understood that he still hears 
and sees very few things in a definite way. Then, 
in the next two or three months he will first creep, — 
he should in time be induced to do so if possible for 
the sake of his health, — at length he will stand up- 
right, and finally walk. None of these processes 
must be hastened, although they may be aided when 
the inner prompting and strength warrant such 
conduct. 

5. During the second year there will probably 
break out with sudden and surprising strength the 
new instinct of anger. It has been latent there all 
the time, but the low degree of intelligence and of 
nerve structure has not given it proper support and 
indulgence. But on an occasion there is perhaps 
taken from the child some cherished plaything, when 



1G The Time to Build 

he suddenly flies into a rage, yelling, screaming, 
kicking, and growing red in the face. This outburst 
of rage is a most interesting and enjoyable aspect 
to the parent who rightly understands children, 
although some ignorantly make it a matter of deep 
concern, regarding it as significant of a vicious char- 
acter in the coming boy and man. 

The purpose of this present discussion is to illus- 
trate how the human instincts come into their func- 
tions at various times during the life of the growing 
child. And the further purpose is to urge that such 
thing be watched for and met with just the sort of train- 
ing necessary for permanent and helpful results. 

Now, let the little child fly into a rage two or three 
times and have his anger appeased through indul- 
gence in the thing he cries for, and he has acquired 
his first lesson in the management of the parent or 
nurse. He has learned that if he wants a thing, all 
he needs to do is to squall or yell and the desired 
results will be forthcoming. But this childish rage 
really furnishes the occasion for the beginning of some 
disciplinary lessons. "Should I give the child every- 
thing he cries for, or withhold the desired object 
until he quits ? " asks an anxious parent. Neither 
rule is necessarily the right one, and yet both, on 
occasions, may be correct. Suppose, instead of the 
infant you have a five-year-old boy who cries for a 
loaded revolver he happens to see in your hand. 
Would you give it to him to stop his crying, or with- 



Anger May be Helpful 17 

hold it ? Suppose again he should cry for the return 
of his own plaything which some one unjustly snatched 
from him. Would you return his plaything to stop 
his crying, or let him cry it out ? Now, here is im- 
plied the correct answer in dealing with the outburst 
of anger in the infant. It is all a matter of justice 
and fairness. If some agency, human or otherwise, 
snatches his food from his mouth, and the child 
squalls for its return, indulge the infant at once. 
If he has been well fed, comfortably clad and bathed, 
and under every proper consideration should lie 
still and behave himself, then do not run and take 
him up because he happens to be trying your patience 
with his squalling. Hold him to it and let him bawl 
it out. There is really nothing better coming to him 
if you are thinking of the development of his char- 
acter — and your own. 

6. So, somewhat later on you will find this same 
instinct of anger showing itself in the various forms 
of fighting and quarreling. The parent who under- 
stands the true natures of healthy children will not 
worry for a moment because the children show natural 
dispositions for contention and combativeness. On 
the other hand, it will be understood that these very 
tendencies furnish the occasion of many a lesson in 
social ethics. How can the child ever learn to be 
just and fair to his mates or square and considerate 
in his dealings with adults unless it be through the 
give-and-take experiences that come from attempt- 



18 The Time to Build 

ing to get more than his share, — and failing much 
of the time, — and from attempting to over-ride the 
rights and privileges of others, and having such at- 
tempts properly thwarted ? Indeed, it may be re- 
garded as a great misfortune to the child if he has to 
grow up as the only one in a home and is denied the 
daily companionship of those of his own age from 
whom he may learn justice and fairness as a result 
of his attempts to get more than is just and fair for 
himself. 

7. The watchful parents will observe that perhaps 
some time during the second half year, and with 
some pronounced repetitions later, there will be clear 
manifestations of the instinct of fear on the part of 
the child. Again, there is nothing for deep concern 
other than to meet this instinct in a general way as 
has been observed for the others named and to give 
the proper training. Fear must have been a human 
necessity during many years of savagery and bar- 
barism. It still has its positive and negative values 
in the development of character. It serves as a de- 
terrent from dangerous and criminal acts. It is also 
found to deter the growing infant from doing many 
a thing which he ought to be learning to do. Fear 
shows its most interesting aspects in the form of what 
has been called social sensitiveness ; that is, bash- 
fulness, shyness, reticence, and the like. 

Parents should by all means watch closely the 
various childish and youthful tendencies to fear, 



Fear to be Eliminated 19 

allowing those fears which promise to be helpful to 
remain in the life or to die out slowly through coun- 
teracting conduct ; and eliminating those other forms 
which would seem to serve no useful purpose. Ex- 
amples of the latter sort would be the fear of ferocious 
animals and of murderers. Such mortal enemies are 
so uncommon in this civilized land that fear of them 
will probably be of no service to life. On the other 
hand, it may stunt and deter the development of 
courage. Especially do such fears tend to induce 
the habit of unnecessary concern and deep worry, 
thus destroying the peace and happiness and cutting 
off the length of years of many members of our so- 
ciety. 

8. There is no questioning the value of social 
sensitiveness in respect to the development of char- 
acter in the young. Some degree of bashfulness and 
embarrassment in dealing with people, especially 
those regarded by him as of superior worth, may be 
considered an actual asset in the life of the growing 
boy. This bashfulness will give him a rich inner 
experience of doubts and fears, and of hopes and 
triumphs. Slowly, under proper guidance and direc- 
tion, the sensitiveness wears away through repeated 
experience of a contrary sort, and such qualities as 
create a self-reliance take its place. 

On the other hand, it is doubtless a misfortune, 
especially for the boy, to become blase — indifferent 
and unembarrassed in the presence of people of all 



20 The Time to Build 

ranks and conditions — while he is yet a mere lad. 
Under our present organization of society, the boy 
who would win the life race must have much experi- 
ence of trial and error, of failure and success, and of 
tribulation and triumph ; and all that for the sake of 
a self-reliant character. Now, the boy who has lost 
all sense of embarrassment in the presence of others 
is likely to be denied the stirring inner experiences 
just named, and to settle down in an indifferent, self- 
satisfied attitude toward the big problems of human 
conduct. It may be counted, therefore, as an indi- 
cation of much promise and advantage that the 
country youth and the country maiden continue to 
be comparatively "green" and bashful during the 
period of their adolescence. 

9. The instinct of sexual love will manifest itself 
at the proper time and age. Before so doing, cer- 
tain organic changes and inner nerve developments 
must take place. Parents may learn some lessons 
from observation of this instinct that will apply to 
practically all the others. For example, there should 
be no attempt to hurry the manifestation and the 
functioning of the instinct, nor should the training 
necessary for its development and refinement be 
denied or withheld. Of all the many inner awaken- 
ings that come to the developing human being, there 
is probably none that quite matches the surging 
energy of sexual love in healthy young manhood 
and womanhood. And to an extraordinary degree, 



Sex Love latent with Good 21 

opportunities for instruction and development of 
the character become present at this time. 

First of all, parents need to be reminded of the 
naturalness and wholesomeness of the sex instincts 
in adolescent boys and girls. They must be urged 
to provide carefully for its natural growth through 
the proper commingling of the sexes in a social way, 
and yet there must be preserved in the young lives 
just enough strangeness and mystery about the sex 
matters as to indulge the poetic and the romantic 
aspects of the unfolding natures. It need not, 
therefore, be a matter of worry and unusual concern 
to parents if their fifteen-year-old son and a neigh- 
bor's thirteen-year-old daughter show pronounced 
tendencies to be "crazy in love" with each other. 
However, this situation furnishes most fitting oppor- 
tunities for teaching the boy courtly manners, gal- 
lantry, consideration for women of all ages; and 
that through and by means of his own personal ex- 
perience. In fact, this stirring period of sex-love 
opens up in the mind of the boy reflections that tend 
to run out into every possible avenue of his future life. 

Likewise, the girl. That same little girl who 
shortly ago hated boys and declared she would never 
have anything to do with them is now manifesting 
much interest in the youth of her acquaintance. This 
thing cannot be laughed to scorn, or scolded away, 
or whipped out of the life of either boy or girl. Its 
roots are in the sex organs as well as in the heart. 



22 The Time to Build 

This first love period furnishes the rarest opportuni- 
ties for teaching the girl proper lessons in respect to 
her comeliness, her purity of thought, and the sweet- 
ness of her own personal character. If during this 
time she be withheld entirely from wholesome asso- 
ciation with boys and young men, there is a probabil- 
ity that she may become a drone or a mope, and 
especially that she may lose valuable training in the 
acquisition of those winsome ways so helpful to young 
women in the matter of their obtaining suitable life 
companions. 

Perhaps less need be said in respect to giving the 
growing son those forms of social training which 
make it possible for him to win to his side an attrac- 
tive helpmate. But beyond the question of a doubt 
there can and should be much done by way of train- 
ing the daughter in this respect. In addition to her 
good health, her moral self-reliance, and those other 
desirable qualities illustrated in a preceding para- 
graph, the young woman who is thoroughly prepared 
for meeting successfully the issues of life has had care- 
ful training in all the practices that refine and beau- 
tify her character. 

This duty of rural parents to the growing daughter 
is no less imperative than in the case of city parents. 
It may be considered as an excellent way of planning 
for the future happiness and well-being, not merely 
for one, but doubtless for an entire family, if the 
growing girl be indulged and directed reasonably in 



Instinct for Home Life 23 

social matters during this period of greatest strength 
of her natural sex instinct. This thing cannot be 
safely put off a few years with the thought that the 
family will move to town and then the girl may have 
her proper opportunities of training. After such 
procrastination and neglect, it becomes too late ever 
to correct the many faults of omission. 

10. There develops somewhat late in the lives of 
young men and young women what might be called 
the "homing" instinct, which amounts to nothing 
other than a deep and pronounced prompting from 
within to set definitely about the matter of getting 
into a home of one's own and providing for and 
building it up. This is different from the mere sex 
instinct named above, although perhaps an out- 
growth of it. It must be noted in passing that this 
homing instinct, when at its strongest, furnishes the 
proper occasion for instruction in respect to the home 
and the home-building affairs. Happy indeed is the 
young man or the young woman who, after a period 
of such instruction, may have the opportunity of set- 
tling down in a suitable dwelling place and there be- 
ginning the establishment of the ideal family life. 

11. Unquestionably there dawns in the life of 
normal young men — and perhaps to a milder degree 
in respect to young women — a pronounced instinct 
of a business and economic sort. This inner prompt- 
ing is doubtless associated with the two last named. 
It may be observed by any person who knows how 



24 The Time to Build 

to study the lives of children and young people that 
some particular youth who a few months ago was 
a spendthrift, indifferent of his future needs and wel- 
fare, is now heard to declare emphatically again and 
again that he must get into business, must save and 
invest his means and provide for his future needs. 
So, there is not a little evidence in effect that we have 
here another inner development of the nerve mech- 
anism. And the time is most fit and opportune for 
the parents to exhaust every reasonable effort to dis- 
cover what the youth is best suited for as a life prac- 
tice and to guide him on toward the realization of 
that purpose. Much more will be said in another 
chapter in respect to the choice of a vocation. 

REFERENCES 

Rural parents who develop an intensive interest in the child-training 
problems will find it most profitable to read somewhat extensively in the 
texts that are not too direct but that give a careful treatment of the 
fundamental principles of child psychology. King's and O'Shea's books 
listed below are of this special character. For a fuller list, see Chapter VI. 

The Child: A Study in the Evolution of Man. A. F. Chamberlain. 
Chapter IV, "The Period of Childhood." Scribner. A sound and 
aomewhat scholarly treatment. 

Boy Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter I, "The Awakening"; 
Chapter II, "Am I a Genius ?" Forbes & Co., Chicago. 

Education of the Central Nervous System. Reuben P. Halleck. Chap- 
ter VII, "Special Sensory Training." American Book Company. 

The Moral Life. Arthur E. Davies. Chapter V, "Motive: The Be- 
ginnings of Morality." Review Publishing Company, Baltimore. 

Psychology. J. R. Angell. Chapter XVI, "The Important Human 
Instincts." Holt. 



Literature on the Time to Build 25 

Essentials of Psychology. W. B. Pillsbury. Chapter X, "Instinct." 
Macmillan. Rural parents will find this entire text a non-technical 
and fundamental help. 

Development and Education. M. V. O'Shea. Chapter XII, "The 
Critical Period." Houghton, Mifflin Company. 

Psychology of Child Development. Irving King. Chapter on "In- 
stinct." University of Chicago Press. 

Your Boy : His Nature and Nurture. George A. Dickinson, M.D. 
Chapter II, "Elements of Character." Hodder & Stoughton, New 
York. 

An Introduction to Child Study. W. B. Drummond. Chapter XII, 
"The Instincts of Children" ; Chapter XIII, "Instincts and Habit." 
Longmans. The book is worthy an entire reading. 

A Study of Child Nature. Elizabeth Harrison. Chapter I, "The In- 
stinct of Activity." Chicago Kindergarten College. 

Observing Childhood. A. S. Draper. Annals American Academy, 
March, 1909. 

Are we spoiling our Boys who have the Best Chances in Life ? Henry 
van Dyke. Scribner's Magazine. October, 1909. 

How to civilize the Young Savage. Dr. G. Stanley Hall. Mind and 
Body, June, 1911. 



CHAPTER III 

THE RURAL HOME AND CHARACTER 
DEVELOPMENT 

That the farm home is an ideal place in which to 
build up the lives of growing boys and girls has be- 
come almost a trite saying. But that rural parents 
are yet failing to realize the child-nurturing possi- 
bilities of such a place may be exemplified in thou- 
sands of instances. When we point to the farm 
home as being the best possible place for rearing chil- 
dren, we mean that it contains all the crude materials 
for such work, and that there must be in charge of 
that work some one who is conscious of the many 
aspects of the problem. So we hope to show the 
fathers and mothers of the farm community, not 
what they might do if they were differently situated, 
but as specifically as possible what there is in the 
present rural home situation that can be made 
directly available in the construction of the lives 
of their children. 

What agencies build up character? 

First of all, we must ask, What are the ordinary 
forces which need to be brought into service in the 

26 



Character-building Agencies 27 

development of children ? At the head of the list, 
we should name play, as furnishing a great variety 
of instructive activities ; then, work and industry ; 
after that, the recreation that comes properly after 
the performance of work. So, we have with all 
their implied meanings the three great child-develop- 
ing agencies : play, work, recreation. Now the 
question naturally presents itself, Can the ordinary 
farm life be made to furnish in right amount and 
proportion these three essential elements of charac- 
ter development ? 

1. Play. — The necessity of indulging and training 
properly the play instinct of the child is becoming 
so fully appreciated of late that many of the state 
legislatures, and even the national Congress, have 
seen fit to make it a matter of deep concern. In 
order that all children may have full exercise of the 
divine, inherent right to play and to learn through 
play, many so-called child labor laws have been passed. 
These enactments have prescribed conditions under 
which children will be permitted to work at gainful 
occupations, and in the majority of cases they have 
strictly forbidden such child labor below the ages 
of fourteen to sixteen. 

But the foregoing efforts in behalf of the young 
have been of a somewhat negative sort, merely guar- 
anteeing the child the right to play. On the positive 
side, much is also being done. The scientific stu- 
dents of child life have been pointing to the great 



28 The Rural Home and Character Development 

benefits of play and to the present need for larger 
means and fuller opportunities for play on the part 
of the masses of children. As an outcome of all this 
research and public agitation, there is now in progress 
a general movement which looks to the placing at 
the disposal of children everywhere the equipment 
and apparatus necessary for building up the charac- 
ter by means of play experience. The large cities 
are expending millions of dollars on municipal play- 
grounds, and the towns and rural communities are 
catching the spirit also. 

It has been shown beyond a question that adult 
life can be prepared for and enriched in many ways 
by means of scientifically provided play during child- 
hood. Two or three results are especially sought 
through the playground training: (1) better physical 
health and increased power to resist disease ; (2) en- 
larged opportunities for the outlet of the spontaneous 
activities through the use of the hands and other 
parts of the body ; (3) the provision of a powerful 
deterrent of evil thought and deed and of juvenile 
crime; (4) the manifold opportunities for learning 
how to get along with one's fellows and to treat them 
in fairness and justice. 

It has already been urged that sound health con- 
stitutes one of the foundation stones of good char- 
acter. Play is especially conducive to sound health. 
Some may think that work without much if any 
play will bring about the same results in the child 



Plate III. 




Children Must Play 29 

life, but such proves not to be the case. The mo- 
notony and drudgery of enforced labor have been 
crushing the lives of children everywhere, especially 
until the wise legislation of very recent years pre- 
vented such thing. Strange to say, the same 
amount of exertion in spontaneous play may build 
up and strengthen the physical and mental life of 
the child. What is the secret of the striking differ- 
ence in the result ? Spontaneity ! is the answer. 
The child goes at his play with a joy and an eagerness 
which are entirely absent from work — a sufficient 
guarantee that his nature is being fed upon the very 
stuff which his soul craves. It is true that children 
will play in a bare room containing nothing more 
than a pile of trash, but such a situation is woe- 
fully lacking on the side of instruction. Very 
little will be learned from a year of such ill-provided 
play. 

So, there is every necessary reason for urging that 
the farm home provide not only the time and the 
occasion for the play life of the children, but that 
the means and proper materials also be looked after. 
At a certain rural home in the state of Michigan, 
where two boys and one girl were growing up, were 
found the following nearly ideal arrangements for 
the play life: a small clump of trees, which afforded 
opportunities for climbing and ample shade during 
the warm weather; a swing hung between two of 
the trees ; a pole serving as a horizontal bar between 



30 The Rural Home and Character Development 

two others ; and a ladder leading to a rude playhouse 
constructed between the forks of a branching maple 
tree. Thereabout were seen also a boy's wagon, two 
home-made sleds and other materials of this same 
general class, not to mention a fairly well-kept lawn, 
where the children could romp. 

Now the cost of all the foregoing materials would 
be trifling in a money sense and not very expensive 
in point of preparation and work, while they would 
pay for themselves a hundred-fold in their results 
for character-development. If necessary, it could 
even be shown how just such provision for the play 
of the boys and girls on the farm will in time add to 
the actual cash value of the place and to the money- 
earning power of the boys and girls whose lives are 
being served. It seems altogether fitting to remind 
rural parents of their duty in respect to their children 
even though the mortgage may not yet have been 
lifted, and even though some of the live stock may 
have to suffer a little, and some of the farm crops 
deteriorate slightly. Let there be provided, first of 
all, some adequate materials for the indulgence of 
the play instinct of the child. 

2. Work. — This term implies a wide meaning, 
and deserves a lengthy discussion. In a chapter to 
follow under the title "How Much Work for the 
Country Boy," we shall give due attention to it. 
The purpose here is to advise the parent to make 
a study of the situation and to make provision for the 



Work Distinguished from Play 31 

amount and kind of work and industry necessary 
for the proper culture of the growing child. 

First of all, there must be appreciated the sharp 
distinction between work and play. The latter is 
spontaneous, allowing the child to follow his caprice 
of mind. He may take up one play activity and drop 
it at any moment that another appeals to him more 
strongly. But with work, the situation is different. 
The purpose is outside of and not within the per- 
formance, as in the case of play. The work looks 
toward some end necessary of achievement and carries 
with it the elements of sacrifice, of giving out of one's 
life something that is his very own in order that some 
other thing may be acquired. In the case of work 
the normal child probably at first finds almost any 
assigned task irksome. He feels that he is being more 
or less unfairly or unnecessarily driven to it and that 
when he grows to be a man, he will have a lot of money 
and hire somebody else to do the work. 

All natural, healthy-minded boys are at first some- 
what stubborn and rebellious in regard to work. 
No matter how good their parents may be, if merely 
turned loose in the world without direction and the 
spur of authority, they will almost invariably avoid 
manual labor. So it might as well be put down at 
once as a rule that every boy who is to become a 
real worker and an industrious character must be 
set definitely at his tasks while a mere child and held 
strictly to their performance. After much persistent 



32 The Rural Home and Character Development 

urging, the young worker begins to forget the thought 
of being driven to his duty and to acquire instead 
a habit of industry. By slow degrees he develops 
within a sense of obligation in relation to work, also 
a feeling of responsibility for tasks done or left undone. 
Finally, after years of this sort of experience, the 
young industrialist reaches a point in his life when 
he can throw himself enthusiastically into some sort 
of well chosen occupation. And then and there 
emerges from his inner consciousness the exceeding 
great joy known to so many of the industrious men 
and women whose worthy life-long devotion to work 
is constantly reconstructing this good world in which 
we live. 

It will be understood, of course, that the term 
work as here used includes the school training. The 
ordinary child regards the appointed duties of lesson 
getting in the nature of work and feels the same pres- 
sure of insistence and compulsion in relation to them. 
Unquestionably, the ordinary school course goes part 
way toward furnishing discipline in industry. The 
course of the newer schools about to be instituted 
throughout the country will reach still farther in 
this direction. It is very encouraging indeed to 
observe that the public school curriculum is destined 
to include, not only the study of books and the recita- 
tion of lessons learned from books, but also the many 
forms of manual labor and industry applicable to 
the character of the growing child. But until the 



Need of Recreation 33 

public school authorities have provided such an 
ideal course of training, parents must see to it that 
the class-room duties be thoroughly supplemented 
with carefully assigned home tasks of the industrial 
training sort. In a later chapter specific attention 
will be given the question of the schooling of the 
country boy and the country girl. 

3. Recreation. — What a vast amount of mis- 
understanding and misuse there is of this term ! 
Observe, if you will, the real meaning of the term or 
of the kindred word, to re-create. It implies in this 
use that the body has been depleted, worn out, or 
fatigued by work and that there is to be a rebuilding 
of the same. But it is amusing — or would be if it 
were not so pathetic — to see how city parents often 
bestir themselves in an effort to provide recreation for 
their idle boys. Many of these boys who are seen 
loafing about the home town during practically the 
entire summer vacation period are given an outing 
in order that they may thus be furnished "recreation" 
— from indolence. 

But farm parents are inclined to err on the other 
side. That is, they tend to over-work their boys and 
not to give them enough outings to furnish proper 
recreation and renewed zeal for the work required 
of them. Hence, the need of carefully considering 
the matter of the outings for the farm boy and girl. 
It can most probably be shown, for example, that 
the boy who works on the farm five and a half days of 



34 The Rural Home and Character Development 

the week and who is given the other half day for rest 
and recreation — that he does more work in the five 
and one-half days and does it better than he would 
do in six full days without the half-holiday. The 
question here is that of a balanced schedule. How 
long should the boy be held to his task before being 
allowed a holiday or recreation period ? 

Just how can these half-holidays, outings, and the 
like, be worked into the farm boy's program so as 
to make them contributive to the up-building of his 
character ? What of this sort can be done to cause 
him to return to his assigned tasks with greater zeal 
and enthusiasm ? How can it be provided that the 
boy may look forward to these outings with a thrill 
of joy during the long days he has to spend behind 
the plow or in the harvest field ? Finally, how can 
these recreation periods, large and small, be so asso- 
ciated with his work-a-day tasks that he may come 
to regard farm life as a wholesome type of vocation — 
one that he may follow with pleasure and profit for 
himself, and one in which he may succeed so well as 
to make his achievements constitute a living com- 
mendation of such a calling to others ? In a later 
discussion there will be shown many methods whereby 
the recreation experience of the farm boys and girls 
may be properly looked after. 

Few persons seem to appreciate the value of soli- 
tude as a means of recreating and building up the 
inner life. Probably one of the greatest agencies in 



Value of Solitude 35 

the development of many a powerful personality is 
the fact that its possessor was compelled by force of 
circumstances while young to spend much time in 
the company of his or her own thoughts. It is im- 
possible to think intelligently while one is doing any 
body-straining work; for example, wood sawing or 
hay pitching. But there are many forms of occupa- 
tion for boys and girls on the farm which permit of 
comparative rest of the body. So the foundations 
of many a worthy career have been laid in the silent 
reflections of the boy spending the day alone in the 
woods or on the prairies with his cattle and dog and 
pony, or sitting on the seat of the riding plow. 

Likewise, the farmer's daughter, during the per- 
formance of many simple, non-fatiguing tasks, re- 
flects perforce upon the larger meanings of life and 
makes out in mind many plans for the time when 
she hopes to undertake the mastery of various trying 
and interesting problems. Lack of this enforced 
solitude and its attendant reflections — lack of the 
discovery of the joy of being at regular intervals alone 
with the great soul of Nature and with one's inner 
consciousness — doubtless contributes in some meas- 
ure to the undoing of city boys and girls. The con- 
stant turmoil of the street, the excitement of the 
ever changing scenes and situations, give an over- 
indulgence to the senses, ripen the judgments 
too early, and rob the character of those soberer 
habits which later enable one to find good in the 



36 The Rural Home and Character Development 

common situations and the common people of the 
world. 

It is, therefore, recommended that farm parents 
provide for a part of the sterner duties of the boys 
and girls such tasks as will allow for comparative 
rest of the body while the mind may tarry undis- 
turbed with the reflections of the inner life. 

Moving to town for the children 

The practice of the well-to-do farmer who moves 
to town to "educate his children" is an old story and 
is fraught with many a hidden tragedy, to say noth- 
ing of the impoverishment of the land and of the 
social order left behind. Why cannot the intelli- 
gent farmer remain on the home place and join a 
movement having for its purpose that of making 
the neighborhood a more desirable place of human 
habitation ? 

One of the dullest places in the world is the coun- 
try town which has been filled up with retired farmers. 
These are usually men who came into the place 
for the purpose of getting all the possible advantages 
at the lowest possible cost. In the typical case the 
new city dweller of this class secures a very good 
residence, and that often, if possible, just outside the 
city limits, in order to avoid local taxes. He takes 
little or no interest in the town's municipal affairs 
and votes against nearly all proposed improvements. 
He keeps his own cow, horse, chickens, and garden, 



Moving to Town 37 

and brings extra supplies in from the farm. Grad- 
ually he takes on a few of the city ways. That is, 
he uses less home produce and does some buying at 
the stores. But for want of stimulating employment 
he gradually grows stouter and mentally more stupid, 
sleeping away many of the hours of the day in his 
chair — an indication that he is dying at the top and 
that he is soon to be cut down. Really, the retired 
farmer is a nuisance to the town and the town is a 
bore to him. 

But what of the children whom he brought in to 
"educate"? They learn rapidly, soon taking on 
the city manners. The natural restraints from evil 
conduct, which the farm home furnished, are now 
wanting. The blare and bluster of the town both 
excite and delight them, while the parents have posi- 
tively no rules or standards by which to govern and 
direct their young in the new situation. All the boys 
and girls need to do in order to gain parental consent 
for going out at night is to declare that "everybody 
is going" or that they are "expected" to be there, 
and the thing is settled. Thus the young ruralists 
newly come to town go dancing and prancing off 
into a veritable world of sweet dreams and delights 

— spoiled forever for any service that they might 
have rendered in building up the country community 

— and finally destined to become mere cogs in the 
ever grinding wheel of some city. 



38 The Rural Home and Character Development 

A BACK-TO-THE-COUNTRY CLUB 

Nearly every town and city of the United States 
has had a so-called Commercial Club. This has 
been in reality a boosters' club bent first of all on 
bringing big business to the place and thus opening 
the way for a bigger population. Anything for the 
sake of more people has been the watchword. Now, 
I would reverse this order of things. Nearly every 
one of these towns and cities needs a club or commit- 
tee that might have for its purposes : (1) to show the 
would-be retired farmer how to shift the burdens from 
his wife as housekeeper, how to provide better social 
and intellectual advantages for his children and yet 
stay on the farm; .(2) to find means and methods 
whereby to plant in the rural community those 
persons of the city population who are not making a 
fair living in their present positions, seeking first of 
course to choose those who are capable of trans- 
planting and then preparing them with care for the 
change. 

I am satisfied that this thing can be successfully 
thought out, — that is, how the worthy poor city 
family may be removed to the country and there 
through hard work gradually acquire enough land 
whereon to earn a»fair living at least. This end will 
never be accomplished by merely driving out the 
poor families, but rather by means of scientific and 
sympathetic practice of re-establishing them. Well- 



Literature on Character Development 39 

conducted research shows that these poor people are 
nearly all constituted of good, sound, human stock. 
So, if transported under the conditions named, there 
may be expected to come forth in the second genera- 
tion a splendid crop of rural boys and girls. 

REFERENCES 

Report of the Commission on Country Life. Introduction by Theo- 
dore Roosevelt. Sturgis- Walton Company, New York. A brief but 

epoch-making book. The student of rural problems will find it a 

splendid outline guide. 
Cutting Loose from the City. E. G. Hutchins. Country Life, Jan. 1, 

1911. 
Back to the Farm. J. Smith. Collier's, Feb. 25, 1911. 
Value of a Country Education to Every Boy. Craftsman, January, 

1911. 
Why Back to the Farm ? Editorial. Craftsman, February, 1911. 
The Country-Life Movement. L. H. Bailey. The Macmillan Co. 

Contains a contrast of the back-to-the-land movement and the 

country-life movement. 
Drift to the City in Relation to the Rural Problem. J. M. Gillette. 

American Journal of Sociology, March, 1911. 
The New Country Boy. Independent, June 22, 1911. 
Overworked Children on the Farm and in the School. Dr. Woods 

Hutchinson. Annals American Academy, March, 1909. 
Why One Hundred Boys ran away from Home. L. E. Jones. Ladies' 

Home Journal, April, 1910. 
The Country Girl who is coming to the City. Batchelor. Delineator, 

May, 1909. 
Play and Playground Literature. For most helpful and inexpensive 

literature on this subject address: The Playground Association of 

America, 1 Madison Ave., New York City. 
Conservation in the Rural Districts. James W. Robertson, D.Sc. 

The Association Press, New York. 
Education for Country Life. Willet M. Hays. Free Bulletin, U. S. De- 



40 The Rural Home and Character Development 

partment of Agriculture. Treats ably consolidation and rural 
agricultural high schools. 

Child Problems. George B. Mangold, Ph.D. Book II, Chapters I-II, 
"Play and the Playground"; Book III, Chapters I-V, "Child 
Labor Problems." The last reference contains accurate information 
as to child-labor legislation up to date of publication. 

Influence of Heredity and Environment upon Race Improvements. 
Kelsey. Annals American Academy, July, 1909. 

Burning up the Boys. Editorial. North American, September, 1910. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE COUNTRY MOTHER AND THE CHILDREN 

Greater attention needs to be given to the con- 
servation of the farmer's wife. Although there are 
many other justifications for giving more thought 
to the care and the comfort of the country mother, 
the single fact of her very close relation to the children 
growing up in the home, and of her peculiar respon- 
sibilities as center of life there, warrant us in devoting 
a chapter to her interests. Recently, while passing 
upon a country highway, the author met a funeral 
procession. A little inquiry revealed a pathetic 
situation, one that has been repeated thousands of 
times throughout the length and breadth of this fair 
country. The deceased was the wife of a young 
farmer, both of them under thirty-five years of age, 
hard working and ambitious for success, but thought- 
less of their own health and comfort. Their farm 
was somewhat new and unimproved, there were hun- 
dreds of things to do other than the routine affairs 
of home keeping and crop raising. Worst of all, 
there was a mortgage to be lifted. After all reason- 
able improvements were made and the mortgage 
paid off, then, according to their plans, they were 

41 



42 The Country Mother and the Children 

going to take matters easy. But the delicate cord of 
life suddenly broke in the case of the wife, and left 
the young husband as overseer of the farm and 
home and sole caretaker of three little children. 

How can parents hope to produce a better crop 
of boys and girls in the farm communities so long 
as the typical farm wife is crushed into the earth 
with the over-weight of the burdens placed upon her ? 
A few minutes' enumeration in this same rural neigh- 
borhood brought out the startling fact that in fully 
half of the homes a scene similar to the one just 
described had been enacted during the last score of 
years. That is to say, during the twenty years, fully 
one-half of the farm mothers living in that particular 
neighborhood had died before their time from one 
cause or another. In most instances the death 
occurred during what we usually speak of as the prime 
years of life, and at a time when the rose bloom should 
naturally be fresh upon the cheek. Fortunately, this 
serious condition, still present in some communities, is 
being gradually improved by the improved methods. 

Poor conditions of women 

The report of the Country Life Commission makes 
the following suggestions : — 

"The relief to farm women must come through a 
general elevation of country living. The women 
must have more help. In particular these matters 
may be mentioned : Development of a cooperative 



Plate IV. 




Farm Women need more Freedom 43 

spirit in the home, simplification of the diet in many 
cases, the building of convenient and sanitary houses, 
providing running water in the house and also more 
mechanical help, good and convenient gardens, a less 
exclusive ideal of money getting on the part of the 
farmer, providing better means of communication, 
as telephones, roads, and reading circles, and devel- 
oping of women's organizations. These and other 
agencies should relieve the woman of many of her 
manual burdens on the one hand and interest her 
in outside activities on the other. The farm woman 
should have sufficient free time and strength so that 
she may serve the community by participating in its 
vital affairs." 

In discussing this same matter, Henry Wallace, 
a member of the Commission, says in his paper, 
Wallaces' Farmer : — 

"They have been saying that the mother is the 
hardest worked member of the family, which is often 
and we believe generally true. They have been say- 
ing that in the anxiety of the farmer to get more land, 
he not only works himself too hard, but his wife too 
hard, and the boys and girls so hard that the boys 
get disgusted and leave the farm, and the girls marry 
town fellows and go to town. 

"Now the farmer's wife is really the most impor- 
tant and essential person on the farm. As such she 
needs the most care and consideration. You are 
careful, very careful, not to over- work your horses. 



44 The Country Mother and the Children 

How much more careful you should be not to over- 
work the mother of your children. You rein back 
the free member of the team. You take special 
care of the brood mare, and the cow that gives three 
hundred pounds of butter. Have you always kept 
the freest of all workers, your wife, from doing too 
much ? How about this ? " 

For the sake of the children 

But this chapter, as well as the entire book, is being 
prepared in the interest of boys and girls. So we 
shall attempt to show a number of specific conditions 
that may be sought as tending to conserve the 
strength and the life of the rural mother, with a view 
to her continuing to be in every best sense of the 
word a caretaker and conserver of the lives of her 
own children. 

1. Surplus nerve energy. — However it may be 
achieved, the thing to work for in this connection 
is a surplusage of nerve energy. If the child train- 
ing is to go on in a satisfactory manner, the mother 
especially, and if possible both parents, must have 
stated times and occasions for looking after such 
training and for inculcating a series of important 
fundamental lessons. The first and best test of this 
child-rearing situation may be made at evening. If, 
after the work of the ordinary day, the mother is 
still fresh enough to take a real interest in the chil- 
dren's affairs, to read to them briefly and perhaps 



A Rest Period Needed 45 

tell them a story or two, or to read for further prep- 
arations of her work with them, — then it may be 
said that her life energies are being conserved in a 
fairly satisfactory manner. The children will most 
certainly reap the benefits. But if the close of the 
ordinary day's work finds the farm mother suffering 
from physical and nervous exhaustion, cross and 
impatient with the other members of the family, de- 
pressed in spirit and gloomy as to the future, these 
are signs which should give alarm to the head of the 
household and arouse him to the point of looking 
into such distressful conditions, and setting them 
right. 

2. A rest period. — How would it do to plan for 
the mother a daily period of rest and relaxation ? 
Would not such a program furnish something of a 
guarantee of length of life in her own case and of 
peace and contentment in the home, and of improved 
well-being in respect to the children ? How shall 
we state this question ? Must the very lives of the 
rural mother and her children be run through the 
mill of over-work as a grist for the improvement and 
up-building of the farm animals and the farm crops ? 
Or should all of these material things be valued only 
in proportion as they contribute to the happiness and 
contentment and the long life of the members of the 
family ? Too many farmers seem to say, as expressed 
by their conduct: "I must lift that mortgage this 
year ! I must market so many bushels of corn and 



46 The Country Mother and the Children 

so many head of live stock ! So here goes my wife, 
and here go my children into the hopper ! Perhaps 
they will have to give up their lives. At any cost 
I must make this thing pay !" 

Then, how would it be to set apart an hour or 
more each day, regularly, for the rest and relaxation 
of the mother, and call it " Mother's hour" ? Dur- 
ing that time let it be the policy of the entire family 
to require no work, no assistance, no favors of her, 
unless it be in case of illness. During such a time 
of recuperation, the delicate organism of the ordinary 
woman would tend to regain its poise. The nerve 
energy would be more or less restored, while she would 
tend to view the better things of life more nearly 
from their right angle. Best of all, she would re- 
gather during the hour not a little strength to be 
used later in the caretaking of her children. Try 
it for a week. 

3. The home conveniences. — This is not the place 
for a detailed discussion of what might or ought to be 
put into the house for the sake of the convenience of 
the home-maker. But if such materials be thought- 
fully arranged, they may be made most effective, 
even though they be small and inexpensive. A little 
inquiry among the ordinary homes will show what 
is meant here, by either the presence or the lack of 
the things indicated. It is not so much a question 
of expense as it is one of thoughtful provision. The 
guiding principle of the home convenience is that of 



Home Conveniences First 47 

saving and conserving the strength of the house- 
keeper. 

There is especially one day in the week which 
might be appropriately called the ''mother-killing 
day." That is the occasion of her doing the washing 
and ironing for the family. Not infrequently two 
or three days thereafter are required for the restora- 
tion of her normal strength and health. Now, it is 
clearly the specific duty of the farmer to take hold 
of just such matters as this and attempt seriously 
to put them right. Doing the washing for four or 
five, and that with the use of the wash tub, is a man's 
work so far as required muscular energy is concerned, 
and very few women are able to do it regularly and 
live out their allotted lives. Therefore, let the con- 
scientious farmer see to it first of all that some kind 
of machinery be installed for lightening such wife- 
killing tasks as that just named. Let him provide 
such household helps and conveniences first, and 
for the sake of the house mother and her children. 
And then, if there be other means available, let him 
provide the man-saving machinery about the barn 
and the fields. In the chapter on "Constructing 
a Country Dwelling," fuller attention will be given 
to these matters. 

4. The mother* s outings. — The farmer who is 
seriously interested in providing for the care and com- 
fort of his family, and for the instruction and intelli- 
gent direction of his children, will see to it that his 



48 The Country Mother and the Children 

life companion be allowed her share of outings. 
This matter must be just as much on his mind as 
that of marketing the produce. The usual habit of 
the farmer's wife is to give up willingly her rights and 
opportunities of this sort. But she cannot well con- 
tinue to be spiritually strong and mentally well dis- 
posed toward the world unless she be permitted to 
get out among her friends and acquaintances at fre- 
quent intervals. 

So, arrange carefully a series of outings for the 
country mother. The beginning of such a program 
is to provide that there be available for her use and 
at her command a horse and carriage. This equip- 
ment need not be of the finest quality, and it may 
be used for other purposes, but when her needs ap- 
pear, it should be given up to her purposes. At least 
one afternoon a week she should go away from the 
place and be free as much as possible temporarily 
from the cares of the household while she finds con- 
genial company among some of the neighboring 
women, or at the library or elsewhere. 

5. The home help. — The unending problem of 
the home life throughout much of the civilized world 
is that of obtaining adequate assistance in the per- 
formance of the household work. Much of the time 
such assistance from outside sources is practically 
unavailable. And yet something must be done to 
meet the situation. If there be young girls growing 
up in the home, the solution of the problem may, 



Boys May Do Housework 49 

and should, be met by means of requiring the daugh- 
ters to assist with the home duties. But in case there 
be no daughters it is seriously recommended that 
either the father or the boys do certain parts of the 
heavier housework. 

It is not necessarily beneath the dignity of the best 
and most brilliant man of this country for him to 
get down on his knees in his own home and help per- 
form the menial work there which threatens to break 
the health of his life companion. If there be growing 
sons in the family, there is every justification for train- 
ing them to assist in the housework in a case where 
such assistance is needed to shield the health and 
strength of the mother. It prepares for better man- 
hood and for more sympathetic protection of his own 
wife to be, if the boy be required to do such things 
and thus to become intimately acquainted with what 
it means to perform the many burdensome tasks that 
tend to wear away the lives of so many good women. 

6. The children shield the mother. — There will 
perhaps be no better occasion than this to remind 
parents of the necessity of carefully training the grow- 
ing children to perform such deeds as will shield the 
mother in the home, and show a sympathetic interest 
in her welfare. These matters will not naturally 
be acquired by children. The country to-day is 
full of grown men whose mothers and wives have 
worked themselves to death ; and yet these men did 
not detect the seriousness of the situation until it 



50 The Country Mother and the Children 

was too late. There are many men of this same 
general class who are willing and even anxious to 
protect the women of the home from the crush of 
over-work, but who know not how to do it. Such 
faults as we have just named might easily have been 
avoided had these men, during very early boyhood, 
been brought into an intimate acquaintance with the 
burdensome tasks of the household. Especially 
should they have been drilled time after time in the 
performance of deeds of love and sympathy in respect 
to their mother. It may seem a little thing for a 
younger child to rush to the table, call for and par- 
take of the best the table provides and, inattentive 
to the wants of any other members of the family, 
hurry off to his play full fed and happy. And yet 
this very thing may be indicative of a serious lack 
of attention to the rights and requirements of others, 
such as may be carried over into his future home life 
and there amount to serious abuse. Again, it must 
be insisted that deeds of sympathy and altruism are 
acquired through the actual and continued practice 
of the performance of such deeds. 

7. Planning for the children. — Among the other 
splendid results of the conservation of the nerve 
energy and the vital interests of the house mother 
may be mentioned that of her ability to plan thought- 
fully for the instruction of the boys and girls. It is 
not an easy task to select appropriate stories and 
readings for the young. It is neither an easy nor 



Some Difficult Questions 51 

a trifling matter for the parent to be able to read 
suitable stories to them and to interpret helpfully 
such stories. It is not a trifling matter for the par- 
ents to converse together an hour at evening and there 
plan as to the future home instruction of their young. 
When should this be introduced into the boy's life 
and when that into the girl's life ? What is a fair 
allowance for the boy for what he does and for his 
spending money for the Fourth of July, Christmas, 
and the like ? What is a fair allowance for the girl with 
which to purchase her clothes and for her pin money ? 
When should each of them be told this and that 
about the secrets of life, and where may helpful lit- 
erature thereon be obtained ? Just when and how 
much should the boy and girl be allowed to go among 
the young people of the community ? When we 
consider the far-reaching results which their solution 
may mean for the developing young lives, these and 
many other such questions become exceedingly im- 
portant. 

8. A common conspiracy. — In many a farm home 
to-day there is a secret compact which goes far to 
shape the destiny of a great number of lives. Go 
if you will to the farm home where the life of the 
mother is being gradually crushed out by the over- 
work and the lack of sympathetic protection on the 
part of the husband, and you will almost invariably 
find a secret understanding between the mother and 
the growing children in reference to the future careers 



52 The Country Mother and the Children 

of the latter. It is implied by these words put into 
the mouth of the mother: "Your father is too am- 
bitious about the work and in his desire for accumu- 
lating wealth about the farm. He is over- working 
me, is thoughtless of me, and indifferent to your 
present needs and your future welfare. Work on 
as you must, driven by him, but do as little as you 
can and grow up to manhood and womanhood. Study 
your books, get through with your schooling, and 
in time find something easier for your own life 
work. Perhaps we can persuade him to give it up 
after a while and move to town, where you can go out 
more, dress better, and get more enjoyment out of 
life." Thus, the children grow up to mistrust and 
dislike their father, and to despise the vocation in 
which he is engaged. Such a state of affairs will 
precipitate their flight from the home nest. This 
will take place at the earliest possible moment and 
will often be in the nature of a leap into the dark, 
anything to get away from the drudgery of the farm. 
Mark you this situation well, you farm fathers, 
and attack it in all possible haste with the best avail- 
able relief. A happy, contented, well-protected 
farm mother almost certainly means the same sort 
of farm children, while the converse situations will 
also run in the same unvarying parallel. Do not 
satiate your desire for more hogs and more land with 
the sacrifice of the peace and happiness and the very 
life-blood of your wife and children ! 



Literature on the Country Mother 53 

REFERENCES 

The Nervous Life. G. E. Partridge, Ph.D. Sturgis-Walton Company, 
New York. This book is especially recommended as an aid to the 
relief of the tired farm mother. 

Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby, M.D. Chapter IX, 
"The Supremacy of Motherhood." Moffat, Yard & Co., New York. 
This is a book of great value for students of race improvement. 

From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter I, "A 
Heart-to-Heart Talk with the House Wife." Sturgis-Walton Com- 
pany. Wholesome advice concerning the conservation of the 
mother's strength. 

Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare, 1910. 
L. Pearl Boggs, Ph.D. Page 5, " Home Education." G. E. 
Stechart & Co., New York. 

The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter XVIII, "Growth in 
Rest." This entire volume is highly recommended as being suit- 
able for over- worked mothers. 

What the Farmer can do to Lighten his Wife's Work. T. Blake. Ladies' 
Home Journal, Feb. 15, 1911. 

The Higher Tide of Physical Conscience. Dr. L. H. Gulick. World's 
Work, June, 1908. 

Education for Motherhood. Charles W. Saleeby. Good Housekeeping, 
April, 1910. 

The Profession of Motherhood. Dr. Lyman Abbott. Outlook, April 10, 
1909. 

Power Through Repose. Annie Payson Call. Chapter XII, "Training 
for Rest." Little, Brown & Co. 

Wallaces' Farmer, Des Moines, la., is especially to be commended for 
its editorial championship of The Farm Mother. 

The Freedom of Life. Annie Payson Call. Chapter IV, "Hurry, 
Worry, and Irritability." Little, Brown & Co. 

Ideas of a Plain Country Mother. Ladies' Home Journal, May 1, 1911. 

American Motherhood. Coopertown, New York Monthly, $1. This 
magazine publishes many short articles bearing on the subject of 
this chapter. 

How to conduct Mothers' Clubs. (Pamphlet No. 302, 8 cents.) Amer- 
ican Motherhood. Coopertown, New York. 



CHAPTER V 

CONSTRUCTING THE COUNTRY DWELLING 

Much has been written in books, and more has 
been spoken from platform and pulpit, relative to 
the patriotism of the American people. In addition 
to all this the public schools of city and country have 
been consciously instructing the children with a 
view to laying a permanent foundation in their lives 
for love of the native land and for defense of the 
national ideals. But it seems to me that the best 
word on the subject of patriotic instruction has never 
as yet been given wide publicity. So long as a boy 
has to grow up in a home where there are meanness 
and turmoil and strife and hatred and degradation, 
one may point a thousand times with pride to our 
great nation, display again and again before his 
eyes the proud banner of freedom, sing with him 
numberless times the patriotic songs eulogistic of 
the fatherland and its national heroes, — under such 
circumstances a boy can never be expected to de- 
velop into anything other than a superficial patriot. 
But give him a good home, simple and unadorned 
though it may be, where love reigns, where his child- 
ish needs are thoughtfully ministered unto, where- 

54 



Real Patriotism a Growth 55 

into he may go at nightfall after a hard day's work 
and find rest and peace and comfort ; a home where- 
into he may take his childish cares and perplexities 
and place them before the affectionate consideration 
of his parents and perhaps his elder brothers and 
sisters ; a place where he is carefully taught the rudi- 
ments of filial respect and a wholesome regard for 
work and industry, — bring up the boy in the midst 
of these plain, sympathetic situations, and you have 
a real patriot. Although he may be reminded only 
occasionally of the meaning of the national flag, and 
although he may read with no unusual interest about 
the blood that was spilled on the national field of 
battle, a life so reared would mean that the love of 
home has become rooted in the heart of the young 
patriot, and that he would rise up if need be and give 
his life in defense of that home. In such a case, only 
a small stretch of the imagination would make it 
possible for the youth to regard the nation as his home 
in the larger sense, while his willingness to defend 
that home in time of real need would be none the 
less present and strong. 

Plans and specifications not available 
There are hundreds of types and thousands of 
varieties of rural dwelling houses. It would perhaps 
be impracticable to attempt to furnish definite plans 
and specifications in connection with this chapter. 
The wide variation in the nature of the selected sites, 



56 Constructing the Country Dwelling 

in the means available for building the home, in the 
size of the family to be accommodated, and the 
like, would hinder us in the attempt. But there are 
certain principles that may perhaps apply in nearly 
every instance and that especially in thought of 
serving the first and best needs of the juvenile mem- 
bers of the household. 

It is altogether possible to make a two-room cot- 
tage out on the open prairie a place suggestive of 
repose, of beauty, and of other high ideals. So, no 
matter how small and inexpensive the rural dwelling 
may be, let the builders work first of all for that 
simple beauty and attractiveness which may most 
certainly invest the heart of the indweller with a 
feeling of comfort and satisfaction. Let it be a 
place, though humble, that may soon become to the 
members of the family the most beloved spot on 
earth. For, after all, the best things of life cannot 
possibly be bought with money. There are often 
misery and dissension and bitterness in the finest 
palatial dwelling, while the essential elements of 
beauty and worth may have lodgment in the hearts 
of the humblest cottage dwellers. However, it is 
not the intention here to argue any one into the 
thought of building a humble cot for the mere sake 
of humility. The point we desire to make is merely 
this : that, although possessed of very meager 
means with which to build, one can actually construct 
a home in which the inhabitants thereof may dwell 



Plate V. 




Things that Appeal to Children 57 

in peace and contentment, and a place over which the 
Spirit of the Most High may brood in great strength 
and beauty. 

What appeals to the children 

In the selection of a location and a site for the 
dwelling the welfare of the children must be thought 
of, second only to that of the house mother. Now, 
what material arrangements will appeal to the grow- 
ing children and add much interest and romance 
to their lives as in future time they view them in 
retrospect ? First of all, perhaps, a broken landscape 
might well be mentioned, a hill or two near by the 
place, with a sharp cliff or embankment to the crest 
of which the children may climb and there cast 
down missiles. Such things tend to add a charm to 
the young lives. And then, if possible, have a 
brook or larger stream of fresh running water. A 
large river is less desirable on account of the danger 
to child life. But a stream which may furnish, not 
merely water for the live-stock, but a swimming and 
bathing place for the children in summer and a 
skating pond for them in winter, to say nothing 
about the pleasures of fishing and boating — these 
will appeal most strongly to the boys and girls. 
And then, the woodland, or at least the shady grove 
with trees to climb, and possibly nuts and wild flowers 
to gather — a place where chipmunks and song birds 
and the like may have their natural habitat, and 



58 Constructing the Country Dwelling 

wherefrom there may proceed the weird and doleful 
sound of the night owl and the whip-poor-will; herein 
one may find many of the crude materials well suited 
to give proper nourishment to the souls of the young. 
But the things just named will not nearly always be 
accessible. Throughout many of the commonwealths 
there are vast stretches of level plateaus with 
scarcely a hill or woodland in sight, and yet covered 
with a rich, tillable soil. These places may for good 
reasons be selected for the site of a dwelling. But 
they demand more work and heavier expense of 
money and time before the best material surroundings 
of an ideal home for boys and girls may be realized. 
Before the house is scarcely laid out in such a place, 
the shade and ornamental trees should be planted, 
selecting for part of the planting a quick-growing 
species that may be removed later after more per- 
manent and more valuable trees have reached a 
suitable height. Of course, a stream of water can- 
not always be diverted so as to make it pass the 
place, but a fair substitute may be had by the con- 
struction of a pond. And this thing should be ac- 
complished at the earliest possible moment. If 
there be a small dry ravine, dam it up with concrete 
and catch it full of surplus water during a rainy 
season. It is a positive injustice to boys and not a 
little unfair to girls to require them to grow up with- 
out any access to open water of some kind. And it is 
almost a matter of criminal neglect to require chil- 



The House Plan 59 

dren to live permanently in a home about which 
there are no trees growing. So it is recommended, 
even if the house construction must in part be de- 
layed or cut off, that the surroundings just named 
be sought in all earnestness. 

The house plan 

In planning and arranging the house, the matters 
to be thought of in addition to those named above 
are convenience and comfort. While it is somewhat 
important that the house look well to those who may 
be passing upon the highway, it is vastly more im- 
portant that it be good within and serve such needs 
of the home-maker and the children as will conserve 
the strength of the former and render the lives of all 
happy and contented. In addition to the matters 
just named, that of placing the dwelling to face in the 
right direction will be thought of. That is, arrange 
the house so as to take advantage of the morning 
sunlight, the evening shade, the winter blasts and 
the summer breezes. While for the sake of entertain- 
ment it may be well to place the rural dwelling near 
the public highway, rather than sacrifice the child- 
developing factors of shade trees and streams and 
the like, it is often better to build back from the road 
and make a private lane leading thereto. 

In arranging for the heat and light in the house, 
think first of all of the health and sanitation of the 
family. Ordinarily, the windows of the farmhouse 



60 Constructing the Country Dwelling 

are too small ; while worse still, many of them, even 
in the bed chambers, are permanently nailed down. 
So, if the health and the general well-being of the 
boys and girls, as well as the parents, are worth 
anything at all, attend religiously to these small and 
inexpensive conveniences, not neglecting to provide 
most carefully for keeping out flies and other insects. 
The wise farmer will find the secret of getting along 
with his own household and of rearing a strong, 
healthy family to lie in the strict attention he gives 
to just such small matters as these. The things 
that overstrain the physique, that try the temper and 
patience of the housewife, must especially be looked 
after and something of a better nature substituted 
for them. 

HOW ONE FARMER DOES IT 

Mr. W. F. Mottier, living in Ford County, Illinois, 
gives in Farmer's Voice his plan of providing for the 
children, as follows : — 

" I have always tried to farm intelligently. One 
of my favorite ideas in regard to farm life is that of 
making the home as attractive as possible for the 
children. So I put on the place all the modern im- 
provements that I can afford, in order that the 
children may not feel that town life is the best. 
And our children do not have any desire to go to 
town. It would bring a sad thought to me to hear 
my children talk against the farm life or home life on 
the farm." 



Human Rights Paramount 61 

Outbuildings and equipment 

With few exceptions, the money available for 
building the home should be expended first in put- 
ting the house into the ideal condition just named. 
After that, if any means remain, the outbuildings 
may be constructed. Otherwise, crude, temporary 
arrangements may easily suffice. There is one thing, 
however, that must be provided with scrupulous care 
and that is the water for the household use. It 
must be, first of all, wholesome and comparatively 
free from impurities. Then, if at all possible, it 
should be cool and taste well. Actual records have 
shown that one will not drink enough water to satisfy 
the demands of his health in case the taste be in any 
degree unpleasant to him. So the ideal water for 
household use is comparatively soft, is cool, highly 
pleasing to the taste, and is free from disease-carrying 
germs. This comparatively simple matter of pro- 
viding the water will prove most important in rela- 
tion to the well-being of the household and the up- 
building of the family life. See to it at any cost 
that the well be situated out of the way of seepage 
from any barn or outbuilding, even though it may 
from such necessity be placed somewhat out of the 
reach of convenience. 

Human rights prior to animal rights 

If the farmer cannot afford to erect a good barn he 
may take reasonable care of his horses with the use 



C2 Constructing the Country Dwelling 

of a cheap, improvised one. Actual test will show 
that horses may be made comfortable in the summer 
time with the use of a straw- thatched shed for a 
barn, provided the drainage be reasonably good and 
the earth floor be kept in good order. The thatched 
covering may be made to keep out the rain. During 
the winter, with the use of a few slender poles, the 
entire shed may be inclosed with a hay or straw wall 
and the place thus be made very satisfactory for the 
time being. Similar sheds and protection may be 
provided for the other live-stock, all to await the 
time when the means are at hand for better con- 
veniences. It is especially suggestive of a mean lack 
of consideration of human rights in the case of the 
farmer who has a big, expensive farm barn towering 
up beside a little dingy shanty of a dwelling house. 
And yet this thing is all too common, particularly 
in new prairie regions. Such is the place out of 
which beastliness and criminality and anarchy tend 
to be germinated from the lives of boys and girls, to 
say nothing about the hidden tragedies that surround 
the lives of the many women who are forced to put 
up with such an arrangement for half a lifetime. 

Just one illustration of a situation of the sort de- 
scribed will suffice to point out the moral. On an 
occasion two strangers drew up to a farmhouse. 
One of them was a land agent, and the other a home 
seeker. Their mission was that of purchasing a 
farm. The owner of the farm showed them about 



Why the Boys Leave Home 63 

the place with considerable enthusiasm, but his heart 
swelled with pride when he reached the magnificent 
barn, one side of which was devoted to the propaga- 
tion of a high-grade strain of Duroc Jersey swine. 
Every convenience and comfort for the hogs was 
provided. He boasted about his success with them, 
showed an affectionate regard for the different in- 
dividuals, calling them by name. The horses, too, 
might have aroused the envy of the entire neighbor- 
hood. They were sleek and well-fed, full in flesh 
and fair in form. There was provided every con- 
venience for feeding and caring for the horses and 
the hogs, so that the hired men found the work 
about the barn exceedingly easy and pleasant. 

Then the attention of the visitors was turned to the 
farmhouse. Yes, it was small and run down and 
poor, the intention being to build a larger one "some 
time." But that same intention was known to 
have been expressed repeatedly for a period of 
twenty years past. And where were the boys ? 
Well, that was the trouble, and furnished the excuse 
for his willingness to sell the place. He simply 
could not induce the boys to stay there and take an 
interest in things. Two of them, barely more than 
boys, had left the home nest in its meanness and 
degradation and hired out in town. The mother 
of the boys was living there because she had to, but 
upon her face were lines of suffering and disappoint- 
ment and degradation. Yet in the midst of it all, 



64 Constructing the Country Dwelling 

strange to say, the father seemed to blame the boys 
and their mother for having conspired against the 
interests of the farm home and plotted to get away. 
In the course of his conversation he made it somewhat 
evident that he would have sold out and left sooner 
had the other members of the family not been so 
urgent about the matter, and that he was now holding 
on partly to indulge his spite and feeling of stub- 
bornness in reference to them. 

The cheap novels one may pick up depict many a 
fictitious tragedy. But in the place just described 
lies the typical scene of thousands of real tragedies 
during the course of which numberless lives of boys 
and girls have been wrecked forever, — lives latent 
with possibilities of goodness and beauty, of mental 
and moral strength. And then, the bitterness and 
anguish of soul of the mothers of these lost members 
of a high humanity — what of that ? The silent 
walls of an untimely grave in many cases closed them 
in, while much of the memory of their secret suffering 
lies buried with them. 

The children's room 

Even though the means available will not allow 
for more than the humblest sort of cottage, there 
should be definite thought of providing therein 
some room or niche or corner to be considered as 
the private property of the children. In a three- 
room dwelling on the Kansas prairie in which lives a 



Plate VI. 




A Room for the Children 65 

happy family of five, and about which thrifty young 
shade trees and orchards are growing, there may be 
seen a children's room that would surprise and in- 
spire any ordinary observer. In a little attic room 
facing the east and reached by a mere step-ladder 
arrangement, may be found the "den," which is the 
private place of the three children. A small win- 
dow opens out to the east and a small improvised 
dormer window about twelve by twenty inches ad- 
mits light and air from the south. There is no plas- 
tering or other expensive covering upon the sloping 
roof walls, but the artistic mother has provided dainty 
white muslin for concealing the rough places, and 
with the help of the children she has decorated the 
little room in a manner that would attract the very 
elect. None of this has required a money cost, but 
it has all been done beautifully at the expense of 
thought and good sense and artistic taste, prompted 
by rare consideration for the needs of the boys and 
girls. 

The two little girls and their brother, ranging in 
age from five to ten years, spend many a happy hour 
in their attic chamber. The heat from the room 
below comes through a small aperture and warms 
the little place in winter time, while the breeze passes 
through the little windows in summer, tempering 
the room satisfactorily excepting upon extremely hot 
days. Upon the walls are arranged beautiful post 
cards, larger pictures gathered from magazines and 



66 Constructing the Country Dwelling 

other sources, and small though beautiful home 
decorations of every conceivable sort. The little 
seven-year-old boy has a small assortment of curios 
collected from the hills and streams, while the girls 
have a small display of their childish needlework, 
their dolls, and some of their best school drawings. 
How suggestive and how helpful it would be if this 
little den could be displayed before the eyes of all the 
humble cottagers throughout the rural districts ! 

Yes, the hogs may live out-of-doors and the horses 
get along very well indeed with a temporary barn 
thatched with straw, but the places of the boys and 
girls must be looked after and that in the interest 
of making them happy, of filling their lives with 
every good, clean sentiment, and of preparing them 
for that large sphere of usefulness which may mark 
their future. If the house be larger than the one 
we have described, then provide accordingly for 
the children. Give them a good room of their own. 
Put their ornaments and playthings in it. If there 
be space, provide a library containing a few suitable 
volumes. And after this thoughtful provision has 
been made, see to it carefully that their schedule for 
work, schooling, and the other duties allows for ample 
time and opportunity for their enjoyment of the 
apartment set aside for them. In years to come, 
that sweet poetic sentiment running back to the home 
of one's childhood will be given greater strength and 
beauty because of the fact that this thing just urged 



An Hour with the Family 67 

has been done. And more than that, the man (or 
woman) who has the blessed privilege of recalling 
these bygone scenes of childhood receives from such 
contemplation a new sense of inner strength and new 
enduement of power to go on with life's struggle 
and master the larger problems that come to him. 

The evening hour 

No matter what the cares of the day may have 
been, how many things may have gone wrong, how 
much hay left out in the field unprotected from the 
rain, how many acres of corn unplowed and losing 
in the battle with the weeds, how many items of 
household duties unperformed — there is every jus- 
tification for laying aside these work-a-day affairs 
at the approach of bedtime and for the spending of 
a precious hour with the problems of the children. 
Farm parents as well as other parents can thus 
preserve their youth and add immeasurably to the 
joys of their own lives. This thing of being with 
the children at evening may seem slightly awkward 
and prosaic at first, but it will slowly grow into a 
habit and will become transformed into an experi- 
ence of great charm and beauty. Best of all the 
high refinement, potential in the lives of the children, 
will thus be gradually brought to an expression, and 
the foundation stones of substantial manhood and 
womanhood will be laid in their lives. Yes, it is 
true, even farm parents may learn to lay aside their 



68 Constructing the Country Dwelling 

cares and perplexities and enjoy the splendid privi- 
lege of getting intimately acquainted with the hopes 
and desires and aspirations of their boys and girls ! 

REFERENCES 

The Outlook to Nature. Revised edition. L. H. Bailey. Page 79, 

"The Country Home." Macmillan. 
Low Cost Country Homes. A. Embury, Jr. Collier's, June 10, 1911. 
A Primer of Sanitation. John O. Ritchie. Chapter XXXIII, "Public 

Sanitation." World Book Company, Yonkers, N.Y. Recommended 

for general use. 
From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia Van de Water. Chapter X, "The 

Boy's Room." Sturgis- Walton Company. 
Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde. Sturgis- Walton. 
" Comforts and Conveniences in Farmers' Homes." W. R. Beattie. Year- 
book, Department of Agriculture, 1909, Washington, D.C., pp. 345- 

356. See also in same volume," Hygienic Water Supply for Farms," 

pp. 399-408. 
Water Supply for Farm Residences, The Plan of the Farm-House, 

Saving Steps. Cornell Reading-Courses. 
Rural Hygiene. H. N. Ogden. The Macmillan Company. 
Rural Hygiene. I.N. Brewer. J. P. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia. 
Earn your Child's Friendship. J. Bal6eld. LippincoWs Magazine, 

January, 1911. 
Fireside Child Study. Patterson DuBois. Dodd, Mead & Co. 
Home Decorations. Dorothy T. Priestman. Chapter XIV, "Rooma 

for Young People." Penn Publishing Company, Philadelphia. 



CHAPTER VI 

JUVENILE LITERATURE IN THE FARM 
HOME 

It may be truly said that the strength and 
impressiveness of the personality depend on the 
nature of the inner thought of the individual. Now, 
thoughts are not unlike the trees and the growing 
grain, or, for that matter, any other living thing; 
unless they have proper nourishment they wither, 
perish, or dwindle away to a puny shadow of their 
possible selves. How shall we measure the strength 
and force of the human character other than by the 
bigness and the purity of the daily thoughts of the 
individual ? It matters little what the occupation 
may be — a hewer of stone, a hauler of wood, a cap- 
tain of industry, or a governor of a state — each of 
these may be mean and little in his respective posi- 
tion provided his thoughts be sensuous and grovel- 
ing. On the other hand, each of these can shine in 
his allotted place in a light all his own, provided he 
have the habit of entertaining clean and inspiring 
ideas in his secret consciousness. 

Now, one of the larger problems of the rural life 
is that of supplying the many hours necessarily de- 

69 



70 Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home 

voted to silent reflection with a suitable form of 
thought culture. Proverbially, the farmer and his 
wife and their children are hurried along with the 
work-a-day affairs and tend gradually to acquire the 
non-reading habit. This is bad for the parents in 
that it keeps their minds running around upon a 
little cycle of hard, industrial facts. It is worse for 
the children in that it fails to supply the proper 
nourishment for the dream period through which 
their lives are necessarily passing. What can be 
done, therefore, to nourish and build up the best 
possible thought activities, especially in case of the 
rural boys and girls ? 

HOW GOOD THINKING GROWS UP AND FLOURISHES 

It may not be out of place to show here somewhat 
more definitely how attractive forms of literature 
gradually work themselves into the lives of the 
young. In the first place, the young person cannot 
invent his own ideas. He does not manufacture his 
thoughts out of something latent within his organism. 
The latent situation consists merely of a nervous 
system prepared to receive manifold impressions and 
to retain them and give them back through the pro- 
cess of ideation. That is, the young person thinks 
only about things that have actually happened in 
his life. All he knows has come to him through the 
avenue of his senses ; what he has seen and heard and 
felt, and so on, constitutes the "stuff" out of which 



Literature Adapted to the Child 71 

his thoughts are made. So he must have the widest 
possible experience, while young, in the use of his 
natural senses. 

The literature best adapted to the child would be 
that which appeals to the interests predominating 
in his life at any given time. During his early years 
not hard, prosaic facts, but situations that stretch 
the truth and sport with the fixed condition of things 
are especially appealing to him. He should there- 
fore be indulged in the classic myths, fables, fairy 
tales, and the like. The parent will of course be 
on guard against his acquiring any seriously errone- 
ous beliefs in respect to such things, and also against 
his receiving any serious shock or fright from the 
tragic aspects of the tale. Later on, during the early 
teens, the boys and girls will become more and more 
interested in the stories of the wars of old and in the 
fact and romance of history. Stories supplementing 
the textbook history of the home country may now 
be introduced. 

As a possible means of bringing the minds of the 
boys and girls into a more intimate knowledge of the 
rural situation, nature studies and nature stories 
should be offered. It must be remembered that it is 
quite possible for the boy to grow up within a stone's 
throw of many of the living things of nature and yet 
scarcely recognize their presence, much less know 
anything definite about them. Therefore, nature- 
study books and leaflets written perhaps in story 



72 Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home 

form and containing attractive illustrations of the 
birds, bees, flowers, and trees to be found near about 
the rural home will prove most interesting and 
instructive to the young. Through such helpful 
literature the mind will gradually acquire the habit of 
casting about in the home environment for the de- 
scription of possible objects and conditions new to one. 
One of the best and most helpful results accruing 
to the young person who indulges the habit of read- 
ing good literature is this : he acquires a large vo- 
cabulary of words and phrases in which to clothe his 
secret thought and with which to express himself to 
others. All this furnishes, not merely a splendid 
form of entertainment for the silent reflections, but 
it also gives the thinker a sense of the power and the 
worth of his own personality. 

Types of literature 

It may be stated as a foregone conclusion that no 
farm is well equipped for the happiness and well- 
being of those who dwell thereon unless there be an 
ample supply of good literature in the house. No 
matter how well stocked with high-grade farm ani- 
mals, how productive in point of farm crops, how well 
kept the hedges and lanes may be, secret poverty and 
littleness of mind lurk in that home if the literature 
is wanting. So, first of all, let us lay the foundation 
by means of enumerating some periodicals and books 
of a more general nature. 



Plate VII. 




B - 



S o 

r- - 



■- ? 



A Variety of Literature 73 

1. The best reading. — Of course the Bible might 
head the list. Whether or not there be a large 
"family" Bible, there should be at least a text of 
convenient size and form for everyday use. This 
book should contain a good concordance. 

Then there should come into the home a first- 
class weekly newspaper; possibly the local paper 
will supply this need. Many farm homes now re- 
ceive a daily paper regularly. 

In addition there should be available a weekly or 
monthly summary of the current events of the nation 
and the world. The Literary Digest, the World's 
Work, and the Review of Reviews are examples of 
standard magazines of this particular class. Either 
one of them will stimulate most helpfully the quiet 
thought of the farmer and the members of his family 
and keep one in touch with the most important move- 
ments of the country. 

Along with the foregoing, there should be kept 
constantly at hand a first-class farm magazine. 
There are numberless periodicals of this sort, but 
perhaps among those of the first rank and those 
which especially give definite helps for the boy-and- 
girl life of the farm may be mentioned Wallaces 
Farmer, Des Moines, Iowa, the Farmer's Voice, 
Chicago, Illinois, and the Farmer's Guide, Hunting- 
ton, Indiana. Also, the semi-official state paper 
well known in many of the commonwealths is usu- 
ally very helpful. 



74 Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home 

Look out for trash. There are many papers 
published, ostensibly in the interest of farm life, 
which are in fact cheap and trashy sheets made use 
of almost wholly as a medium of advertising quack 
medicines, get-rich-quick schemes, and other frauds. 
A reliable means of testing the value of any one of 
these so-called "farm" or "home" papers is to 
examine the advertisements. If there be any con- 
siderable number of advertisements which offer 
sure cures for chronic diseases, confidential treat- 
ments for secret troubles, fortune telling, and at- 
tractive high-priced articles at a trifling cost, then 
the whole thing is probably fraudulent and not 
worthy to come into your home. Also avoid the 
paper or magazine which advertises intoxicating 
liquors. It is very low in moral tone, to say the 
least. 

2. Books for children. — In selecting a list of 
books for farm boys and girls, we should make little 
or no distinction between them and the children of 
the city homes. Their earlier literary needs are 
practically all alike and their youthful minds must 
be nourished in about the same fashion. In offer- 
ing the lists to follow we do not pretend to have 
selected nearly all the profitable books available, but 
rather to have named a few examples of volumes 
already found enticing and helpful to the young 
mind. The majority of them are standard and well 
known. While the price and publisher are given in 



A Selected Reading List 75 

many instances, often a cheaper edition may be 
had. 

In order to proceed with greater certainty and 
economy in purchasing books for the children, the 
rural parent is advised to consult some one near at 
hand who is thoroughly familiar with children's 
literature. Perhaps the superintendent of schools 
of the town near by, or some local minister, or some 
well-informed leader of a mothers' club, may fur- 
nish the desired assistance. It would also be helpful 
to write for the general catalogues of a number of 
the large publishing and distributing houses and 
from their lists select a number of suitable titles. 
Many of them publish the older classics in very 
attractive form for ten to twenty-five cents, the origi- 
nal unchanged and unabridged. 

In order to stimulate interest in forming the nu- 
cleus of a home library the farmer should either 
make or purchase a small set of book shelves. Im- 
portant as it may seem to build a first-class house for 
the thoroughbred hogs, this matter of the children's 
reading is even more important and should be at- 
tended to first, before it becomes too late to catch 
the attentive ear of the boys and girls. 

A SELECTED LIST 

The following lists are taken chiefly from those selected by such well- 
known critics as Mary Mapes Dodge, Kate Douglas Wiggin, Edward 
Everett Hale, Thomas Wentworth Higginson, and Hamilton W. Mabie. 



76 Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home 

Ages Four to Six Years 

Various Authors. Boston Collection of Kindergarten Stories. J. L. 

Hammett Company, Boston. 50 cents. 
Bryant. Stories to Tell to Children. Houghton, Mifflin Company. 
Holbrook. Hiawatha Primer. 50 cents. Houghton, Mifflin Company. 
Eggleston. Story of Great America for Little Americans. 35 cents. 

Houghton, Mifflin Company. 
Scudder. Fables and Folk Stories. 
Stevenson. A Child's Garden of Verses. 
Lang. Blue Fairy Book. 
Ruskin. King of the Golden River. 
Field. Lullaby Land. 
Wiggin. The Story Hour. 
Sewell. Black Beauty. 

Ages Six to Seven Years 

Norton and Stephens. The Heart of Oak Books, No. 1. 25 cents. 

Heath. 
Gilbert. Mother Goose. 
Carroll (Charles L. Dodgson). Alice in Wonderland. $3. Harper. 

35 cents. Crowell. 
Andrews. The Seven Little Sisters. 60 cents. Ginn. 
Kingsley. Water Babies. 
Kipling. The Jungle Book. 
Greene. King Arthur and his Court. 

Ages Seven to Eight Years 

Grimm. Fairy Tales. Translated Mrs. E. Lucas. $ 2.50. Lippincott. 
Goldsmith. Goody Two-Shoes. 25 cents. Heath. 
/Esop. Fables. Selected by Jacobs. $1.50. Macmillan. 
Harris. Nights with Uncle Remus. $1.50. Houghton, Mifflin. 
Bible Stories. 60 cents. A. L. Burt Company, New York. 
Hawthorne. Wonderbook and Tanglewood Tales. 
Irving. Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, or The 
Sketch Book. 



Books for Various Ages 77 

Ages Eight to Nine Years 

Baldwin. Fifty Famous Stories Retold. 35 cents. American Book 
Company. 

Longfellow. Hiawatha, The Village Blacksmith, The Children's 
Hour, etc. 

Mabie. Norse Stories Retold from Edda. $1.80. D odd, Mead. 

Miller. Out-of-Door Diary for Boys and Girls. Sturgis- Walton Com- 
pany. 

Ages Nine to Ten Years 

Norton and Stephens. Heart of Oak Books, No. 4. 45 cents. Heath. 
Hodges. The Garden of Eden. (Bible Stories.) $1.50. Houghton, 

Mifflin. 
Mathews. Familiar Trees and Their Leaves. $1.75. Appleton. 
Burroughs. Wake Robin. 

Ages Ten to Eleven Years 

Higginson. Tales of the Enchanted Islands of the Atlantic. 

Dana. How to know the Wild Flowers. $ 2. Scribner. 

Blanchan. Bird Neighbors. 35 cents. Doubleday, Page. 

Norton and Stephens. Heart of Oak Books, No. 5. 50 cents. Heath. 

Church. Stories from Virgil. 

Morley. A Song of Life. 

Stevenson. Teasure Island. 

Ages Eleven to Twelve Years 

Alcott. Little Women. $1.50. Little Men. $1.50. Little, Brown 

& Co. 
Lucas. A Wanderer in London. $1.75. Macmillan. 
Aldrich. Story of a Bad Boy. $1.25. Houghton, Mifflin. 
Shakespeare. The Tempest. 
Scott. Tales of a Grandfather. The Talisman. 
Edgeworth. Parent's Assistant. 

Ages Twelve to Thirteen Years 

Kipling. Just So Stories. $1.20. Doubleday, Page. 
Seton-Thompson. Wild Animals I have Known. $2. Scribner. 



78 Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home 

Wyss. Swiss Family Robinson. 60 cents. McKay ; also Dutton. 

Palmer. The Odyssey. $1. Houghton, Mifflin. 

Goldsmith. The Vicar of Wakefield. 

Dickens. A Christmas Carol. The Cricket on the Hearth. 

Hughes. Tom Brown at Rugby. 

Ages Thirteen to Fourteen Years 

Swift. Gulliver's Travels. $1.50. Macmillan. 

Longfellow. Evangeline. 

Dana. Two Years before the Mast. $1. Houghton, Mifflin. 

Norton and Stephens. Heart of Oak Books, No. 6. 55 cents. Heath. 

Lamb. Tales from Shakespeare. 

Coffin. Old Times in the Colonies. 

Franklin. Autobiography. 

Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin. 

Ages Fourteen to Fifteen Years 

Defoe. Robinson Crusoe. $1. McLoughlin. $1.50. Harper. 

Buntan. Pilgrim's Progress. 

Norton and Stephens. Heart of Oak Books, No. 7. 60 cents. Heath. 

Austen. Pride and Prejudice. 

Thoreau. Walden. 

Ages Fifteen to Sixteen Years 

Cooper. Leather Stocking Tales. 

Burroughs. Birds and Bees. 15 cents. Strawbridge and Clothier. 
Pyle. Robin Hood. 60 cents. Scribner. 

Scott. Ivanhoe. 60 cents. Appleton. Lady of the Lake. 35 cents. 
Ginn. Lay of the Last Minstrel. 25 cents. Macmillan. 

Sixteen Years Old and Older 

Irving. The Alhambra. 25 cents. Macmillan. 
Macaulay. Lays of Ancient Rome. 75 cents. Macmillan. 
Kipling. Captains Courageous. $1.50. Century. 
Nicolay and Hay. Boy's Life of Lincoln. $ 1.50. Century. 
Eggleston. Hoosier School Boy. $1. Scribuer; also Heath. 



Literature on Child-rearing 79 

In addition to the foregoing, there is beginning to come from the press 
a mass of juvenile literature that promises to furnish most practical 
inspiration and guidance to the juvenile mind on the farm. Much of 
this new rural life literature may be had for the asking or for the mere 
price of publication. The following are recommended : — 

The Rural School Leaflet. Edited by Alice G. McCloskey, and 
issued under the general direction of L. H. Bailey at Ithaca, N.Y. 

The Country Life Publications, issued by D. W. Working, Superintend- 
ent of Agricultural Extension, Morgantown, W.Va. 

The series published by A. B. Graham, Superintendent of the Extension 
Department, Ohio University, Columbus. 

The annual reports of County Superintendent O. J. Kern, Rockford, 
111., and of County Superintendent George W. Brown, Paris, 111. 

The Wisconsin Arbor and Bird Day Annual, issued by State Superin- 
tendent C. P. Cary, Madison, Wis. 

The Extension Departments of many of the state universities and 
nearly all of the state agricultural colleges are now issuing a series of 
small pamphlets on such matters as stock judging, grain breeding, soil 
testing, and home economics. This literature should be given the 
widest possible circulation in the country home, as it will prove helpful 
both to the young and to the parents in their direction of the young. 

Literature on Child-rearing 

Parents who are seriously in earnest in the matter of developing the 
lives of their children will find great assistance and much inspiration 
through the reading of books and magazines on the child-rearing prob- 
lems. In fact, it may be put down as a practical certainty that the work 
of child training cannot go on effectively and continue in its interest 
except one have some aids of the kind just named. Therefore, the in- 
terested parent should cast about for the books and magazines that 
promise to serve in the solution of the particular problems at hand. It 
happens that the author has collected a large number of books and peri- 
odicals of this class and that he has made a somewhat critical examination 
of them. 

In listing the titles below, a word or phrase is used to indicate the con- 
tents or purpose of the text. 



80 Juvenile Literature in the Farm Home 

1. Periodicals on Child-rearing 

The American Baby. American Publishing Company, 1 Madison Ave., 
New York City. $1 per year, 10 cents per copy. Contains much 
detailed and most helpful instruction on the care of the child. 

American Motherhood. Coopertown, N.Y. $1 per year, 10 cents 
per copy. Helpful and sympathetic. Especially strong in respect 
to health and sanitation and in methods of instructing children in 
regard to the secrets of life. 

The Child-Welfare Magazine. Official organ of the National Congress 
of Mothers, 147 North 10th Street, Philadelphia. 50 cents per 
year, 10 cents per copy. 

The educational pamphlets published by the Society of Sanitary and 
Moral Prophylaxis, 9 E 2d Street, New York City. Excellent mono- 
graphs, each treating some urgent child problem in relation to morals, 
sanitation, and the like. 

The Home-training Bulletins, prepared and issued by William A. 
McKeever, Professor of Philosophy, State Agricultural College, 
Manhattan, Kan. 5 cents each. Each of these pamphlets con- 
tains about sixteen pages and covers a particular home-training 
problem. The numbers thus far issued are : — 

1. The Cigarette Smoking Boy. 

2. Teaching the Boy to Save. 

3. Training the Girl to Help in the Home. 

4. Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation. 

5. A Better Crop of Boys and Girls. 

6. Training the Boy to Work. 

7. Teaching the Girl to Save. 

8. Instructing the Young in Regard to Sex. 
Others are in course of preparation. 

2. Books on Child-rearing 

Holt. Care and Feeding of Children. $1. Appleton. Most helpful 
and practical. 

Cubley. Short Talks with Young Mothers. $1.50. Putnams. Help- 
ful from the medical side. 



Books on Child-rearing 81 

Harbison. A Study of Child Nature. $1. Chicago Kindergarten 

College. Excellent. A standard help. 
Allen. Civics and Health. $1.25. Ginn & Co. Most helpful on the 

side of sanitation. 
Hall. Youth. $1.50. Appleton. A great book on child study by 

one of the world's leading authorities. 
King. Psychology of Child Development. $1. University of Chicago 

Press. A fundamental work for those who wish to make a scientific 

study of child life. 
Ritchie. A Primer of Sanitation. 60 cents. World Book Company. A 

clear, helpful presentation of the facts. 
Chance. The Care of the Child. $1. Penn Publishing Company. 

Full of detailed information about infants, especially. 
Mangold. Child Problems. $1.25. Macmillan. Presents the matter 

ably and in the light of the freshest information. 
Call. The Freedom of Life. $1. Little, Brown & Co. A great and 

inspiring book. Will give rest and poise to tired mothers. 
Gulick. Mind and Work. $1. Doubleday, Page & Co. A companion 

book to the one above, only more suitable for the father. 
Saleeby. Parenthood and Race Culture. $2.50. Moffat, Yard & Co., 

New York. A remarkably instructive volume on race improvement. 

REFERENCES 

How to Direct Children's Reading. Mae E. Schreiber. Annual 
volume N.E.A., 1900, p. 637. 

A Suggestive List for a Children's Library, 483 titles. Helen T. Ken- 
nedy. Democrat Printing Company. Minneapolis. 

A Mother's List of Books for Children. Catherine W. Arnold. A. C. 
McClurg & Co. 

Children's Rights. Kate Douglas Wiggin. Pages 69 ff . " What shall 
Children Read ?" Houghton, Mifflin Company. 

Fingerposts of Children's Reading. Walter Taylor Field. McClurg & 
Co. Gives extensive lists. 

Books for Boys and Girls. Brooklyn Public Library, New York. A care- 
fully selected list of 1700 titles, 200 of them being especially marked 
for their value. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE RURAL CHURCH AND THE YOUNG 
PEOPLE 

There was never a greater demand for efficient 
leadership in the rural communities than there is 
to-day. The country has continued for many years 
past to become richer in farm products and equip- 
ment, but it has steadily grown poorer in social and 
spiritual values. In fact we have unconsciously 
acquired a distorted idea of values. Hogs are too high 
in proportion to boys. Beef cattle are absorbing too 
much interest in proportion to the time and money 
expended in perfecting the character of girls. It 
has long been the proud boast of the Middle Western 
states that they could feed the entire country. And 
we have continued so long in this way as now to 
regard big crops and the great abundance of farm 
animals and other such material possessions as ends 
in themselves. So it is high time that we ask our- 
selves what this material wealth is all for. Looked 
at from at least one high vantage point, it may be 
properly regarded as so much encumbrance unless we 
shall be able to convert it into a means to some 
worthy and spiritual purpose. 

82 



Latent Wealth of the Country 83 

Decadence of rural life 

The open country in the Middle Western states 
has for some time been the breeding place for sterling 
manhood and ideal womanhood, and the recruiting 
ground wherefrom have been drawn many men and 
women to undertake the management of the larger 
enterprises of the country. The enforced self 
denial and discipline of work ; the continued practice 
of quiet reflection ; the comparative freedom from 
the evil and degrading influences peculiar to much of 
the child life in the cities ; and many other character- 
building experiences could be set down on the favor- 
able side of rural child-rearing in the past. But this 
situation is rapidly changing. The ten-year period 
just closing has witnessed a decadence of country life, 
the rural population actually showing a decrease. 
Large numbers of the best families have moved to the 
cities and towns, and their places on the farm have 
been taken by irresponsible laborers and transient 
renters. 

Yes, the wealth of the rural community is still 
there, lying more or less dormant, and all the other 
means of a splendid civilization are there. But in 
the usual instance there is no one to assume the 
leadership in bringing about the reconstruction of 
the rural life. Now that he has accumulated such 
an abundance of material things, the typical farmer 
needs to be shown how to deal more fairly and 



84 The Rural Church and the Young People 

helpfully with the various members of his family. 
Some farmers' wives are gradually being dragged to 
death with the over-burden of work, which might be 
obviated if the farmer and his wife were both shown 
specifically a better way of getting things done. 
Many boys and girls growing up in the country are 
being cheated out of their natural heritage of good 
health, spontaneous play, and the joy of social inter- 
course, all because of the fact that farm products are 
too much regarded as an end rather than a means 
to the higher development of the members of the 
rural family. So a good soil and excellent crops are 
essentials for a substantial rural society, but they are 
not a certain evidence of such thing. It is possible 
to go into some of the country communities where 
these material things are accumulated in great 
abundance and yet find the people there living a 
little, mean, and narrow form of life, and that chiefly 
because they do not quite understand how to use 
the splendid means at hand in the accomplishment 
of some high and worthy purposes. 

Work for the ministry 
And so we hereby issue a call and a challenge for 
workers to enter the great fallow field just named 
and make it blossom with new social and spiritual life. 
And it is the conviction of some that the ministers 
of the town and village churches can undertake this 
work much better than any other class of persons, 



Preaching in the Country 85 

for they are already in many respects trained leaders. 
Let these ministers be provided if possible with an 
assistant, a layman it may be, for both their town 
and country work. Then let each of them have a 
rural appointment to which they may go from one 
to four times each month ; and, inspired by a 
vision of all the possibilities ahead of them and 
endued with divine power and guidance, enter 
earnestly into the great work of rehabilitating the 
country community. It is evident that the minister 
who will leave his town congregation with perhaps 
only one Sunday sermon and go to a country church 
and preach to the adults, and teach and lead the 
young, while his assistant takes charge of the second 
Sunday service at home — it is evident that such a 
minister will not only wear longer in the locality 
in which he is stationed, but that he will find in the 
rural work just mentioned such a flood of zeal and 
inspiration as will more than make up for and 
repay the effort. Many of the town ministers are 
preaching to audiences that are more or less irrespon- 
sive to what they have to say. Under present con- 
ditions they are compelled to preach to the same 
audiences too much. Their sermons grow stale. 
But under the arrangement here recommended, 
such conditions would not obtain. They would come 
back from the rural appointment so laden with 
new ideas and ideals as to appear to the home 
congregation in a most advantageous light. 



86 The Rural Church and the Young People 

The country minister 

There is at present not a little promise that there 
may be developed throughout the country a new 
type of country-dwelling ministers. It is certainly a 
logical position for the effective religious worker to 
assume; namely, that of actually dwelling among 
those whom he is attempting to serve. He acquires 
an intimate knowledge of their problems, their 
point of view, including the status of their individual 
beliefs and prejudices. 

As an example of what the country minister can 
achieve one needs to read an account of the splendid 
work of the Rev. Mathew B. McNutt of Plain- 
field, Illinois. Mr. McNutt was called to this charge 
in 1900 when a fresh graduate from a Presbyterian 
seminary. At the time of his call there was in 
the locality a small dead or nominal church member- 
ship and an occasional weak, ineffective service 
held in the little old church of fifty years' standing. 
This devoted and far-seeing man got down among 
the people with whom he settled, made a careful 
survey of the economic, the social, and the religious 
life of the place, and began his wonderful work of 
reconstructing all this. The ultimate purpose was 
the improvement of the spiritual well-being. He 
organized singing schools, granges, literary and de- 
bating societies, sewing societies, and clubs of vari- 
ous other sorts, all as a means of awakening the 



Plate VIII. 




Fig. 8. — The fifty-year-old country church at Plainficld. 




Fig. 9. — The new country church at Plainfield, Illinois, erected through 
the inspiration and leadership of Reverend Matthew B. McXutt. 



A Successful Country Minister 87 

life of the community and bringing the people to- 
gether in a spirit of mutual sympathy and help- 
fulness. After less than a decade of hard work a 
marvelous transformation of the rural life thereabout 
was achieved. Among other notable changes was a 
new church to supplant the old one. The new 
building was erected at a cash cost of ten thousand 
dollars ; has an audience room seating five hundred 
or more, several Sunday school class rooms, a choir 
room, a cloak room, a pastor's study and a mothers' 
room, all on the main floor. In the basement below 
there is a good kitchen, a dining room with equip- 
ment, also a furnace, a store room, and the like. 
The church membership has grown to one hun- 
dred sixty-three with many non-members attending, 
while the Sunday school enrollment increased to 
three hundred. 

Now there are always a few minds who wish to 
measure all earthly things in terms of a money 
value. To such it may be shown that the land 
values in the vicinity of this new country church 
have gone up to a marked degree and that the 
economic conditions are all of a most satisfactory 
nature. 

As further evidence of what a rural community 
working together may achieve for the spiritual 
welfare, there may be cited the instance of the little 
side station by the name of Ogden in Riley County, 
Kansas. Here the people got together and voted to 



88 The Rural Church and the Young People 

build a country church, and that without determining 
as to the denominational affiliation. A committee 
of leaders was appointed to raise funds and to draw 
plans for the building. In a short time, arrangements 
were perfected for constructing the building at a 
cost of four thousand dollars. It was later voted 
to place this new church temporarily under the direc- 
tion of the Congregational church in Manhattan, 
fifteen miles away. 

In one or two instances the religious leaders in 
a country community have succeeded admirably in 
establishing a "commission" form of church ad- 
ministration. The method pursued has been that 
of having a committee of three, each a member of a 
different church, to call by turn from the towns 
near by the ministers of the various denominations. 
Further details of the plans provide for the committee 
to raise funds so that the minister may be paid a 
definite amount for the service conducted. 

One of the first essential steps in the establishment 
of a rural church is a careful survey or study of the 
situation. While it may be accounted a sin against 
God and humanity to add another church where there 
are already more than the people can support, often 
it will be found that very large, well populated 
country districts are wholly without access to any 
religious service whatever. Verily, the field is 
white unto the harvest and the laborers as yet are 
few. 



Room at the Bottom 89 

A MISTAKE IN TRAINING 

Too long we have been training young people in 
the school and in the home to struggle for the best 
of everything — a sort of rivalry that results in 
envy, jealousy, and strife, and a falling apart where 
there should be cooperation and sympathy and a 
spirit of mutual helpfulness. The craze for clothes, 
the glare of the electric lights, and the lure of the 
cheap theater have struck the country people and 
are drawing away much of the best young blood 
there. It seems that we have over-done this thing 
of pointing to the top and urging our young people 
to scramble for that, until as a result no one is 
looking for a place to serve, while all are looking for 
a place to shine. Now, there may be "plenty of 
room at the top" for selfish scrambling, but in some 
respects the top is woefully over-crowded. On the 
other hand, there is a vast amount of good room 
at the bottom, acres of it, and we might well com- 
mend it to every one who may be imbued with the 
idea of doing some effective work in the world. 
All over the broad, open country, in thousands of 
rural districts, the situation at the bottom is literally 
crying out for constructive workers who will come in 
there with their good courage, their scientific train- 
ing, and in the name of the Most High get down 
among the people and the common things in the 
midst of which the people live and lay a substantial 



90 The Rural Church and the Young People 

foundation for a new and beautiful structure — an 
edifice erected out of the plain materials to be found 
in any ordinary rural community, and that by means 
of transforming such things and making them 
contributive to the high and lofty spirit-purposes 
for which they are really designed. 

Rural child-rearing 

We are not half awake as yet to the meaning and 
possibilities of the rural community as a place 
for rearing children. The city environment ripens 
youths too fast and too early and works all the 
spontaneity and aggressiveness out of the boys 
and girls before their mature judgments are ready 
to function. As a result of this city hot-bed, we 
have as a type the blase sort of young man, and a 
young woman who is overly smart in respect to the 
"proper things to do." Either of them has little 
power of initiative and less power of persistence. 
One of the greatest virtues of the somewhat isolated 
rural home is that it matures human character more 
slowly and keeps the boys and girls fresh and "green" 
and spontaneous while there is being gradually 
worked into their characters the habit of industry 
and the power of doing constructive work. 

If one should desire to obtain a sterling specimen 
of manhood, he would not take up with the "smart" 
city youth who at the age of sixteen has had all 
the experiences known to men. The latter is too 



The Moral Giant 91 

ripe. He knows it all. From his own point of view, 
his knowledge of the world is nearly completed. No, 
one would prefer to go to the most remote country 
district and, if need be, lasso some green, gawky, 
sixteen-year-old who is afraid of the cars and the 
big girls and who has never had a suit of clothes that 
fits him. This scared, unbroken youth would go 
through a tremendous amount of rough-and-tumble, 
trial-and-error experiences during the course of his 
college training; and he would live intensively and 
rush into many unknown places and commit many 
blunders, between whiles catching countless in- 
spiring visions of how he might be or become a man 
of great strength and ruggedness of character. 
Such a man might be relied upon to shoulder the 
heavy burdens of the world. Such a man could be 
called out to join in the forefront of battle when the 
moral and religious rights of the people were at issue. 
Such a man when fully matured could be sent into 
some kind of missionary field and be expected to 
labor there for a long time alone, courageous and 
persistent, finally winning a very small following ; 
then a larger number of adherents ; and then the 
entire population at his heels, applauding and back- 
ing him up in his every worthy effort. 

The author has long had a vision of a man trained 
and developed through the seasoning experiences 
just sketched and who, under the inspiration and the 
guidance of the Most High, will go into these rural 



92 The Rural Church and the Young People 

communities which are latent with material life, 
and there begin his labors in behalf of the higher 
things into which all the elements of this typical 
rural situation may be transformed. Just as fast 
as men hear this divine call and heed it and take up 
this work, so fast will our country life be recon- 
structed and the best that is in our society become 
gloriously transformed and everlastingly saved as a 
heritage of the oncoming generations. And it is 
evident that the rural minister, working through 
the rural church, is the person to whom this divine call 
may most naturally come. 

The churches too narrow 

Not a few of the country churches are too narrow 
in their limitations, tending to chill out those who do 
not happen to be adherents of the creed, and to 
foster dissensions and hatred among neighbors. 
And they are not touching in a vital way the lives 
of country boys and girls. 

It will be agreed that the gospel of the Master of 
men may be made so broad and inviting as to attract 
all who have a spark of religion in their natures, 
and that means practically every one in the commu- 
nity. But there is no good reason why the rural 
church should stand alone as such. It should and 
can be made a social as well as a religious center for 
the whole community. So, let there be constructed 
a modern building with big windows, and several 



Plate IX. 




Constructive Work of the Church 93 

apartments for Sunday school classes, and for meet- 
ings of social groups, such as the grange, the farmers' 
institute, the sewing society, and the literary and 
debating clubs. Then there should be apparatus 
for the preparation of meals, with a room in which a 
long table might be spread as occasion demands. 
Outside of this building there should be a children's 
playground with some simple apparatus for play. 

Not less frequently than one afternoon of the 
month — and twice would be better — the people 
of the community should drop everything and come 
together for a good social time and a general ex- 
change of ideas. On an occasion of this kind the 
town minister could be present or someone from 
the outside who would bring with him at least one 
helpful and practical idea about building up country 
life. Let this building be regarded as the property of 
every man, woman, and child in the community and 
strive to bring it to pass that the legitimate and worthy 
interest of all shall be actually served there. 

Constructive work of the church 

This country church here thought of need be no 
less a religious affair, but it must become distinc- 
tively a socializing agency. It must not merely save 
souls, but it must save and conserve and develop 
for this present life the bodily, the moral, and the 
intellectual powers of the young. One cannot ade- 
quately develop those splendid latent powers in young 



94 The Rural Church and the Young People 

people solely by means of teaching them the Sunday 
school lesson or preaching to them, no matter how 
true the gospel may be. The evidence is ample 
to show that boys and girls who attend church and 
Sunday school are nevertheless falling into many 
vicious habits of conduct, and are growing up without 
many of the forms of discipline and training essential 
for stable Christian character and social and moral 
efficiency. In fact as a means of temporal salvation 
the old-fashioned church and Sunday school are 
proving more and more a failure. 

Now, as soon as the church realizes the meaning 
of the foregoing situation and acts accordingly, just 
so soon will this splendid old institution be enabled 
to do efficient work in vitalizing the practical affairs 
of the community in which it is located. To illus- 
trate this point : The great curse of boyhood to- 
day is the tobacco habit, and this vitiating practice 
is slowly working its way among the country youth. 
The youth who acquires the smoking habit before 
becoming physically matured thereby depletes his 
physical health to a marked degree, reduces his 
mental efficiency ten to fifty per cent, and almost 
completely destroys his power of initiative. Such 
a youth is never found contending for any moral 
issue or any high and worthy cause of the people. 
His constructive instinct is made more quiescent, 
while his disposition to condone evil is greatly and 
permanently increased. Boys who attend church 



New Work in the Church 95 

and Sunday school are also, like others, falling vic- 
tims to the sex evils of various forms. 

An innovation in the rural church 

Perhaps there is no better illustration of how the 
economic affairs of the neighborhood may be vitally 
linked with the church service than the work carried 
on under the direction of Superintendent George 
W. Brown, of Paris, Illinois. During one year Mr. 
Brown conducted on seven different occasions an 
over-Sunday program, somewhat as follows : — 

On Saturday either at the country school house or 
in the basement of the country church there was 
arranged an exhibition of corn, while during the 
day class exercises in the study of corn were in 
progress. On the day following, Sunday, there were 
two sermons, the theme of each being closely allied 
to the economic problems studied the day previ- 
ously. The ministers are reported to have cooperated 
enthusiastically in this work, each one attempting 
in his sermon to show how better economic life 
may be made contributive to a better religious 
life. 

On the Monday following, the program was con- 
tinued with a farmers' institute representative of the 
several interests of the adults and the young people. 
At this Monday meeting a number of the faculty 
of the state university were in attendance and gave 
helpful addresses appropriate to the occasion. At 



96 The Rural Church and the Young People 

night the County Superintendent gave an illustrated 
lecture, using the stereopticon to show the audience 
just what was being done in the various parts of 
the county and country by way of improvement of 
the social and economic conditions. 

In many places in the New England and other 
eastern states the rural communities are attacking 
the social-religious problems in practically the same 
manner as is being done at Plainfield, Illinois. At 
Danbury, New Hampshire, there is a Country Set- 
tlement Association, which is accomplishing some 
epoch-making things. At the official building there 
is provided a trained nurse to assist the entire 
community. The organization conducts social- 
betterment work for the local neighborhood and 
leads in a campaign for social reform throughout 
the state. 

Likewise, at Lincoln, Vermont, there is an in- 
teresting example of cooperation between the reli- 
gious and social interests. Three churches have 
formed a federated society. In a building main- 
tained in common by them, the meetings of the 
Ladies' Aid Society, the Good Templars, the 
Grange, the Grand Army Post, and many others 
of a social nature are held. Such cooperative work 
is certain to have a helpful and far-reaching effect 
on any community. 



Plate X. 




Combine the Religious and the Social 97 

Spiritualize child life 

Above all things else, let the country church be 
reorganized with reference to the interests of the 
young. Let the minister and the other leaders take a 
firm stand for a square deal for the farm boys and 
girls in respect to work and play and sociability. 
Let them place before country parents clear, concrete 
models and methods as to how to accord fair treat- 
ment to the children in every particular thing. Let 
them organize the young people of the community 
into groups for play and sociability and direct them 
in both of these matters. 

It is high time we were considering all of our legiti- 
mate interests as a part of our religion. Indeed, 
there is no good reason why the young people could 
not meet together at the rural church and on the 
same evening have an oyster supper and a prayer 
meeting. They could very consistently discuss and 
participate in both a temporal and a spiritual affair 
on the same occasion and in such a way that each 
part of the program would be vitalized by the others. 
And likewise the smaller children. It should not be 
considered at all irreverent for one to go directly 
with them to the playground after the Sunday school 
lesson is ended and there lead and direct them in their 
health-giving enjoyments. Try this in your rural- 
church society centers and see if the boys and girls 
do not run with great enthusiasm to the whole affair. 



98 The Rural Church and the Young People 

One great error committed by many of us in the 
past is that of regarding work and things as arbi- 
trarily high or low. But the author does not see 
why plowing corn may not be made just as sacred 
and just as divine a calling as preaching the gospel, 
provided the former be regarded in the light of serv- 
ice of some high spiritual purpose ; as indeed it may 
be. So, here is a distinctive part of the function of 
the rural church ; namely, to spiritualize work as well 
as workers — to urge upon the attention of the rural 
inhabitants the thought that their work must all 
be regarded as a means to the transformation of the 
community life and of each individual life into a 
thing of transcendent worth and beauty. 

A SUMMARY 

Now, here is the proposed plan in a nutshell. 
The country community is the best place in the world 
for bringing up a sturdy race of men and women and 
the country church is or can be made one of the 
greatest agencies in the achievement of this work. 
But such achievement can best be brought about 
only when the country church goes to work to save 
the whole boy and the whole girl. And that means 
that the church must understand better how human 
life grows up — that it must meet these growing boys 
and girls on their own level of everyday interest and 
socialize and spiritualize these interests through close 
contact with them. Then, make the rural church a 



The Country Church for All 99 

social center for the young, including exercises in 
work and play and recreation, as well as a place for 
religious instruction. The child is a creature of 
activity and not of passivity. You cannot preach 
him into the kingdom in a lifetime ; but you can get 
down with him and work with him and play with him 
and guide and direct him through his self-chosen, 
everyday interests, to the end that he may after- 
wards enter the ranks of the Lord's anointed. 

Again, it is urged, make your country church a 
center for the entire life of the community.- Not 
only have the adults bring their practical affairs to 
this center for consideration, but have the boys and 
girls come with their implements of work and play, 
with their specimens of farm and home produce 
and handiwork, with their miniature menageries and 
workshops — all this with joy and reverence before 
and after the religious services. 

REFERENCES 

Efficient Democracy. W. H. Allen. Chapter X, "Efficiency in Re- 
ligious Work." Dodd, Mead & Co. 

Rural Christendom. Charles Roads. Prize Essay. American Sunday- 
School Union, Philadelphia. 

Report of the Commission on Country Life, pp. 137-144, Sturgis- 
Walton Co. 

The Country Church and the Library. John Colton Dana. Outlook, 
May 6, 1911. 

The Country Church and the Rural Problem. Kenyon L. Butterfield. 
University of Chicago Press. A strong presentation of the entire 
situation. 



100 The Rural Church and the Young People 

The Rural Church and Community Development. President Kenyon L. 

Butterfield. The Association Press, New York. A collection of 

practical papers and discussions on several important topics. 
The Day of the Country Church. J. O. Ashenhurst. Funk & Wagnalls 

Co., New York. Read especially the excellent chapter on "Leader- 
ship." 
The Church and the Rural Community. Symposium. American 

Journal of Sociology. March, 1911. 
Philanthropy, A Trained Profession. Lewis. Forum, March, 1910. 
Rural Manhood. The Association Press, New York. Monthly. This 

magazine publishes many excellent articles on the Rural Church. 
The Inefficient Minister. Literary Digest, April 10, 1909. A report of 

the criticisms of Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, of the Carnegie Foundation, 

and Dr. Henry Aked, of San Francisco. 
World's Work, December, 1910. An interesting account of Reverend 

Matthew McNutt's work in building up a country church. 
The Country Church. George F. Wells, in Cyclopedia of American 

Agriculture, by L. H. Bailey, volume IV, page 297. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE RURAL 
SCHOOL 

The country districts are slowly waking up to an 
appreciation of the fact that within their bounds lie, 
not only all the elements fundamental to the material 
wealth of the world, but that they also contain in a 
more or less dormant form all the essential factors of 
intellectual and spiritual wealth. The rural school 
is theoretically the best place on earth for the educa- 
tion of the child, not only because of its close proxim- 
ity to the sources of material wealth, but because of 
the openness and comparative freedom of its sur- 
roundings. Then, the country school is especially 
effective as a place of instruction on account of its 
happy relation to work and industry. Too often the 
boys and girls of the town school go unwillingly to 
their class rooms with the feeling that the lessons are 
heavily imposed tasks. 

But in the typical country school the pupils are 
young persons who have already experienced much of 
the strain of work and who go somewhat eagerly to 
the schoolroom, because it is in a sense recreative to 
them, and because of their being in a position to see 

101 



102 The Transformation of the Rural School 

more clearly what substantial training is to mean to 
them in the future. That is to say, a distinctive 
difference between the typical country child and the 
typical city child is this : the former believes that he 
is pursuing the course of instruction in a more volun- 
tary spirit and for the sake of his own personal in- 
terests and upbuilding, while the latter is inclined 
to feel that he is performing the school tasks for the 
sake of some one else and because of the strict re- 
quirements of outside force or law. 

Radical changes in the view-point and method 

But if the theoretic worth of the rural school is 
to be made at all actual, some very radical changes in 
view-point and method must come to pass. First 
of all, we must keep asking the question, What is 
education for ? And perhaps we must accept the 
answer that in its best form education serves the 
higher needs and requirements of the life we are 
trying to live to-day. In case of rural teachers and 
parents it has been too common a practice to urge 
the child on in his lesson-getting with the statement, 
or at least the suggestion, that lessons well mastered 
in time furnish a guarantee of a life of comparative 
ease and freedom from heavy toil. The sermonette 
preached to the boy in this situation is too often 
substantially as follows: "Go on, my boy, master 
your lessons, pass up through the grades, and be 
graduated. Behold So and So, a great captain of 



All Have a Right to Culture 103 

wealth, and such and such a one, a great statesman. 
Now, these persons are in a position to take life 
easy. They have wealth to spend for the employ- 
ment of labor and need to do little of such thing 
themselves." 

In other words, the view-point of the school has 
been radically wrong. We have been advancing 
the idea that education enables one to get out of 
work, whereas we should have been urging that 
education of the right sort enables one to get into 
work. That is, it means enlarged capacity for work 
and service and proportionately enlarged joy and con- 
tentment in the performance of worthy work of any 
nature whatsoever. Let rural parents once incul- 
cate the last-named point of view upon their grow- 
ing boys and girls and the attitude of the latter 
toward the school and its tasks will be likewise radi- 
cally changed. 

All have a right to culture 

And then, a second question we need to ask our- 
selves is, Whom is education for ? or, What classes 
should have the benefits of it ? A close comparison 
of the school ideals of twenty-five years ago with the 
most progressive ones of to-day reveals a surprising 
situation. Without seemingly realizing the fact, 
we continued for generations in this country to tax 
ourselves heavily for the purpose of supporting 
schools almost exclusively in behalf of the so-called 



104 The Transformation of the Rural School 

professional classes. We said, especially to the grow- 
ing boy: "Now, if you wish to become a lawyer, a 
physician, a minister, or a teacher, here is your op- 
portunity. Pursue this well-arranged course, finish 
it up, and that all at our expense. But if you wish 
to become a farmer, a merchant, a craftsman of any 
sort, then this institution is not at your service. 
We will teach you to read and write and cipher, after 
which you may look out for yourself." Thus we were 
taxing the masses for the exclusive education of a 
few classes. To-day the best ideal is a radically 
different one, as it attempts to serve all worthy 
classes and vocations through the school adminis- 
tration. It assumes that artisans as well as artists 
and the professional classes have the same inherent 
right to both the practical aid and the direct culture 
which an educational course may furnish. 

As a practical result of this new ideal, now rapidly 
advancing throughout the country, we are about to 
have an age of cultured farmers, high-minded stock 
raisers, refined architects and builders, and so on. 
That is, our newest and best educational courses 
are beginning to provide the means and opportunities 
for the education of all worthy classes. So it behooves 
all interested rural parents to turn their best efforts 
toward the transformation and the betterment of the 
country school. Certain specific achievements in 
relation thereto are now being planned for and in 
many instances accomplished. Let every one con- 



A Longer School Term Needed 105 

cerned take notice of this situation and join with all 
possible earnestness in the forward movement. 

In his instructive monograph entitled "Changing 
Conceptions of Education," Professor E. P. Cubberley 
states the new ideal as follows : — 

"The school is essentially a time- and labor-sav- 
ing device, created — with us — by democracy to 
serve democracy's needs. To convey to the next 
generation the knowledge and the accumulated ex- 
perience of the past is not its only function. It 
must equally prepare the future citizen for the to- 
morrow of our complex life. The school must grasp 
the significance of its social connections and rela- 
tions, and must come to realize that its real worth 
and its hope of adequate reward lie in its social 
efficiency. There are many reasons for believing 
that this change is taking place rapidly at present, 
and that an educational sociology, needed as much 
by teachers to-day as an educational psychology, is 
now in the process of being formulated for our use." 

Work for a longer term 

One of the first steps toward a more helpful school- 
ing for the country youth is that of lengthening the 
yearly school term. In many thousands of instances, 
the country school is conducted for only three to five 
months during the year, and even this short term is 
indifferently attended. But the actual length of the 
year should be seven months or more. Many of the 



106 The Transformation of the Rural School 

country districts can easily provide for eight months. 
The farmer should not concern himself about a small 
additional tax, but should have in mind rather the 
larger additional gain to the well-being of the young 
in the community. If the local tax be not sufficient 
for supporting a longer term and a better school, 
then seek to have laws authorizing the distribution 
of state aid to the weaker districts. This law has 
been actually passed in a number of the common- 
wealths. The act in the usual case provides a general 
school fund out of which the deficit for the smaller 
rural districts may be made up. 

Compulsory attendance laws needed 

The far-seeing country dweller will be glad to join 
in a movement in behalf of compulsory attendance at 
the public schools. Already a number of states have 
enacted fairly good laws on this subject, but some 
of them allow "loopholes" providing for the too 
easy avoidance of their requirements. Perhaps the 
best and most effective type of law of this class is 
that which requires the child under fourteen years of 
age to attend the entire term of the public schools, 
allowing for his absence only in case of sickness or in 
cases where it is shown upon investigation and be- 
yond question that he is the main support and bread- 
winner of a family. 

In connection with the legal requirements for com- 
pulsory attendance, there must, of course, be provi- 



Better Schoolhouses 107 

sion for the truant. Truant officers, who may be re- 
quired to serve only part time and who may receive 
pay for actual services, are set over specified dis- 
tricts and required to bring in all truant school 
children. Although this compulsory attendance law 
has been in force only a few years, reports show an 
almost unanimous belief in its effectiveness. The 
reader will understand the justification of such a 
law to be this ; namely, the inherent right of the 
child to be educated whether he may appreciate such 
right or advantage or not, and the implied right of the 
community to have his best service as a well-educated 
member of society. The effects upon crime and 
criminality of the neglect of the education of the 
young have been so thoroughly discussed of late as 
to require no restatement here. 

Better schoolhouses and equipment 

A survey of the entire country from one side to 
another reveals a deplorable state of affairs in respect 
to the conditions of the typical rural schoolhouse. 
In thousands of cases, there is nothing more than a 
dingy, little, old one-room building, scarcely suitable 
as a place wherein to shelter chickens or pigs, and 
with nothing in the surroundings to suggest or even 
hint at a place where young minds are taught how to 
aim at the high things of life. Now, these crude 
structures were once a necessity. In pioneer days 
the little, old box schoolhouse, or even the sod 



108 The Transformation of the Rural School 

structure, served a mighty purpose in the transforma- 
tion of the plains and the wilderness. But times are 
now radically changed. The wealth of the country 
is abundant. Improvements of nearly every other 
sort have gone on as the times advanced. But too 
often the little, old cheap schoolhouse on the bleak 
country slope became a fixed habit. In setting 
forth plans for a newer and better country school 
building, the author cannot improve upon those 
prepared by E. T. Fairchild, State Superintendent 
of Public Instruction in Kansas, and published in his 
Seventeenth Biennial Report. We therefore quote 
as follows : — 

1. Location. — "In selecting a site for a school 
building, the questions of drainage, convenience, 
beauty of surroundings, and accessibility should 
have prime consideration. Select, if possible, some 
plat of ground slightly elevated, and of which the 
surface may be properly drained and kept free from 
mud. It should be especially seen to that water 
may not stand under the building. If the elevation 
is not sufficient, this trouble should be overcome by 
proper filling in beneath the building. The location 
should be as nearly as possible central with refer- 
ence to the pupils of the district. But other things 
should also be considered. It is better that some 
pupils should be put to a slight disadvantage than 
that attractiveness of surroundings, remoteness 
from environment likely to interfere with the 



Plate XI. 




Fig. 12. — A cozy little country schoolhouse in the tall, picturesque 
woods of California. 




Fig. 13. — This model country school building, planned by State 
Superintendent E. T. Fairchild, of Kansas, is being copied in 
many places. 



Ideal School Grounds 109 

work of the school, or other essentials, should be 
sacrificed." 

2. The water supply. — The purity of the water 
supply for the school is no less important from the 
standpoint of health than that of the air supply. 
The greatest danger lies in the use of water taken from 
wells that are used only a portion of the year. Such 
water is certain to become stagnant. In the autumn 
before the term commences special care should be 
taken to pump all water out of the well and to clean 
the same if necessary ; thereby much sickness may 
be avoided. The well, of course, should be so lo- 
cated as to avoid any contamination owing to vaults 
or drains. 

3. Size and adaptation of grounds. — The school 
grounds should contain at least three acres, and five 
acres would not be too much. While the cities are 
cramped for playgrounds and purchase them only at 
a high cost, the latter can be secured in the country 
in sufficient size and at a relatively small expense. 
Let it be kept constantly in mind that the school 
grounds should be adapted for play, that they should 
afford a protection from winds, and that they should 
also be attractive. They should likewise be adapted 
for school gardening and experiments in agriculture. 
For the purpose of play, the breadth should exceed 
the depth where there are separate grounds for boys 
and girls. Where the playground is large, the build- 
ing should be centrally located with relation to the 



110 The Transformation of the Rural School 

size of the grounds and should be situated well toward 
the front. This will provide two fair-sized and well- 
proportioned playgrounds. Where the grounds are 
small and contain but one acre, symmetry must yield 
to utility and the building should be located well 
to the front and to one side, so as to leave one well- 
arranged playground. 

4. Improvement of school grounds. — In writing 
of the value of well-arranged school grounds, Pro- 
fessor Albert Dickens of the Kansas State Agricul- 
tural College says : — 

"This sermon on school ground improvement is 
one that I have tried to preach for some time. In 
my judgment, it is the most important and the most 
difficult of any of the problems in civic improvement. 
The average country cemetery is sorrowfully neglected, 
as a rule, but its treatment is careful and generous 
compared with the school grounds of the average 
country district. Some day we shall realize that all 
these factors of environment are formative influences, 
and shall not wonder that the character formed in 
surroundings devoid of beauty has hard, coarse, and 
cruel lines in its make-up. 

"It is an easy matter to picture an ideal country 
school — its clean-swept walk to the road, its ample 
playground, its windbreak of evergreens, its groups 
of hard- and soft-wood species, borders of shrubs and 
beds of bulbs for early spring and perennials for 
summer and fall. But to get it — to find some way to 



Improving the School Grounds 111 

overcome the serious obstacles — is worthy the atten- 
tion of statesmen and club women. 

"Nearly every district has made an attempt. 
That is one of the hard things to forget — one of the 
reasons so many districts fear to try again. They 
had a spasm of civic righteousness — an Arbor Day 
revival — and every patron dug a hole in the hard, 
dry ground; every child brought a tree, some of 
which were carried for miles with the roots exposed 
to sun and wind — and then they were planted and, 
in some cases, watered for the summer; and the 
days grew warm and the weeds grew high ; and by 
the next fall the two or three trees yet alive were not 
noticed when the director went over with his mower 
the Friday before school opened ; and so ended that 
attempt at a schoolyard beautiful. 

"It ought to be possible to convince the patrons of 
every district that a single acre of land is not suffi- 
cient ground upon which to grow big, bright, broad- 
minded boys and girls; that two, or three, or four 
acres of land, well planned as to baseball diamond, 
basketball court and a good free run for dare-base and 
pull-away — that such would give the state and the 
world better results than if the land were devoted to 
corn and alfalfa. This, I believe, is the first problem 
of great magnitude — to get the ground — and it 
must be considered. Children must play. The noon 
hour, when they eat for five minutes and play 
fifty-five minutes, is all-important in a child's life." 



112 The Transformation of the Rural School 

In order to carry out the suggestions given by 
Professor Dickens, why not organize a general rally, 
perhaps on the occasion of Arbor Day, and all hands 
join in preparing and planting the school grounds to 
suitable shade trees, shrubs, and the like ? The play- 
grounds could also be laid out and equipped on this 
occasion. Then, after this excellent start has been 
made, have the school board appoint some reliable 
man as caretaker of the grounds with payment of 
reasonable wages for what he does. Thus the good 
beginning will not be lost. 

A MODEL RURAL SCHOOL 

The State Normal School at Kirksville, Missouri, 
has built and equipped a model rural school for use in 
practical demonstration work. President John R. 
Kirk gives a detailed description of this building in 
Successful Farming (April, 1911) as follows : — 

"This schoolhouse has three principal floors. The 
basement and main floor are the same size, 28 X 36 
feet, outside measurement. The basement measures 
8 feet from floor to ceiling. Its floor is of concrete, 
underlaid with porous tile and cinders. The base- 
ment walls are of rock and concrete, protected by 
drain tile on outside. The basement has eight com- 
partments. 

"1. Furnace room, containing furnace inclosed by 
galvanized iron, also double cold air duct with elec- 
tric fan, also gas water heater. 



Plate XII. 




A Model School Building 113 

"2. Coal bin, 6 X 8 feet. 

"3. Bulb or plant room, 3X8 feet, for fall, winter, 
and spring storage. 

"4. Dark room, 4X8 feet, for children's experiments 
in photography. 

" 5. Laundry room, 5X21 feet, with tubs, drain, and 
drying apparatus. 

" 6. Gymnasium or play room, 13 X 23 feet. 

" 7. Tank room containing a 400-gallon pneumatic 
pressure tank, storage battery for electricity, hand 
pump for emergencies, water gauge, sewer pipes, 
floor drain, etc. 

"8. Engine room, containing gasoline engine, water 
pump, electrical generator, switchboard, water tank 
for cooling gasoline engine, weight for gas pressure, 
gas mixer, batteries, pipes, wires, etc. 

" The pumps lift water from a well into pressure 
tank through pipes below the frost line. Gasoline is 
admitted through pipes below the frost line from two 
50-gallon tanks underground, 30 feet from building. 
All rooms are wired for electricity and plumbed for 
gas. The basement is thoroughly ventilated. 

" The main floor contains a school room 22 X 27 feet 
in the clear, lighted wholly from the north side. A 
ground glass in the rear admits sunlight for sanita- 
tion. Schoolroom has adjustable seats and desks, 
telephone, and teachers' desk. Stereopticon is hung 
in wall at rear. Alcove or closet on east side for 
books, teachers' wraps, etc. Schoolroom has a 



114 The Transformation of the Rural School 

small organ, ample book cases, shelves, and appara- 
tus. Pure air enters from above children's heads 
and passes out at floor into ventilating stack through 
fireplace. 

" Main floor has two toilet rooms, each of these 
having lavatories, wash bowl with hot and cold water, 
pressure tank for hot water and for heat, shower 
bath with hot and cold water, ventilating appara- 
tus, looking glass, towel rack, soap box, etc. Each 
toilet room is reached by a circuitous passageway 
furnishing room for children's wraps, overshoes, 
etc. The scheme secures absolute privacy in toilet 
rooms. All toilet room walls contain air chambers 
to deaden sound. The toilet rooms are clean, decent, 
and beautiful. They are never disfigured with vile 
language or other defacement. 

"All rural schoolhouses with the comb of the 
roof running one way have attics, but the attic of this 
rural school is the first one and the only one that has 
been well utilized. This attic is 15 X 35 feet, inside 
measurement, all in one room ; distance from floor 
to ceiling 7| feet in the middle part. It is abun- 
dantly lighted through gable lights and roof lights. 
It contains modern manual-training benches for use 
of eight or ten children at one time, a gas range and 
other apparatus for experimental cooking. It is 
furnished with both gas and electric light. It has a 
wash bowl with hot and cold water, looking glass, 
towels, etc. It has a large typical kitchen sink and a 



Plate XIII. 




The Cornell Schoolhouse 115 

drinking fountain, but no drinking cup, either common 
or uncommon. It has cupboards, boxes, and recep- 
tacles for various experiments in home economics. 
It has a disinfecting apparatus, a portable agricul- 
tural-chemistry laboratory and numerous other equip- 
ments. 

" A rural school can be built here from beginning to 
completion with all the above-mentioned equipments 
of every kind, including furniture, for $2250. The 
heating and ventilating apparatus, the pressure 
tanks, gasoline engine, water pumps, dynamo, fur- 
nace, etc., can all be easily adapted to a two-room 
model, a three-room school, or a six-room school by 
having each fixture slightly larger. 

"This model therefore solves the schoolbuilding 
question for villages, towns, and consolidated rural 
schools." 

The Cornell schoolhouse 

An attractive rural schoolhouse was erected some 
years ago at the New York State College of Agricul- 
ture, to serve as a suggestion architecturally and 
otherwise to rural districts. It is a one-teacher build- 
ing, and yet allows for the introduction of the new 
methods of teaching. It is a wooden building, with 
cement stucco interior, heated with hot-air furnace, 
and with two water toilets attached. The total cost 
was about $2000. The College writes as follows of 
the house: — 



116 The Transformation of the Rural School 

" The prevailing rural schoolhouse is a building in 
which pupils sit to study books. It ought to be a 
room in which pupils do personal work with both 
hands and mind. The essential feature of this new 
schoolhouse, therefore, is a workroom. This room 
occupies one-third of the floor space. Perhaps it 
would be better if it occupied two-thirds of the floor 
space. If the building is large enough, however, the 
two kinds of work could change places in this school- 
house. 

"The building is designed for twenty-five pupils 
in the main room. The folding doors and windows 
in the partition enable one teacher to manage both 
rooms. 

" It has been the purpose to make the main part 
of the building about the size of the average rural 
schoolhouse, and then to add the workroom as a 
wing or projection. Such a room could be added to 
existing school buildings ; or, in districts in which 
the building is now too large, one part of the room 
could be partitioned off as a workroom. 

"It is the purpose, also, to make this building 
artistic, attractive, and homelike to children, sani- 
tary, comfortable, and durable. The cement-plaster 
exterior is handsomer and warmer than wood, and 
on expanded metal lath it is durable. The interior 
of this building is very attractive. Nearly any rural 
schoolhouse can secure a water-supply and instal 
toilets as part of the school building. 



Better Facilities for Play 117 

" The openings between schoolroom and workroom 
are fitted with glazed swing sash and folding doors, 
so that the rooms may be used either singly or 
together, as desired. 

"The workroom has a bay-window facing south 
and filled with shelves for plants. Slate blackboards 
of standard school heights fill the spaces about the 
rooms between doors and windows. The building is 
heated by hot air ; vent flues of adequate sizes are 
also provided so that the rooms are ventilated. 

"On the front of the building, and adding ma- 
terially to its picturesque appearance, is a roomy 
veranda with simple square posts, from which 
entrance is made directly into the combined vesti- 
bule and coatroom and from this again by two doors 
into the schoolroom." 

Help make a school play ground 

Throughout the entire country there is at last ris- 
ing a wave of enthusiasm in behalf of affording the 
child a better means of play. First the cities took 
the matter up, then the towns, and now the country 
districts are beginning to do their part. The farmer 
and his wife should feel an interest in such a matter, 
for they can render no better service to their com- 
munity than that of joining the district teacher in an 
effort to equip the school grounds with play apparatus. 
As a suggestive outline of what materials to procure, 
the dimensions and cost of the same, there is given 



118 The Transformation of the Rural School 

below the equipment worked out by certain officials 
in Colorado and described briefly in Superintendent 
Fairchild's report, as follows : — 

A turning pole for boys may be made by setting 
two posts in the ground, six or eight feet apart, and 
running a 1 or If inch gas pipe through holes bored 
in the tops of the posts. The cost of such a piece of 
apparatus should be as follows, assuming that the 
necessary work will be done by the teachers and boys : 
Two posts, 4" X 4", 8 ft. long, 50 cents ; one piece 
gas pipe, 8 ft. long, 15 cents. 

Teeter boards may be made by planting posts ten 
or twelve feet apart, and placing a pole or a rounded 
6 X 6 on top of them, and then placing boards, upon 
which the children may teeter. Individual teeter 
boards may be made by placing a 2 X 8 board in the 
ground, and fastening the teeter board to it by means 
of iron braces placed on each side of the upright piece. 
The cost of the above apparatus would be, for several 
teeters : Two upright posts, 6" X 6", 5 ft. long, 03 
cents; one piece, 6" X 6", 12 ft. long, $1.22; four 
teeter boards, 2" X 8", 14 ft. long, $2.50. For indi- 
vidual teeter : One piece 2" X 8", 16 ft. long, 56 
cents — to make upright piece 4 ft. long and teeter 
board 12 ft. long; two iron braces and four large 
screws, 25 cents. 

A very attractive and desirable piece of apparatus 
may be made as follows : Secure a pole about ten or 
fifteen feet long. To the small end attach by the use of 



Play Apparatus for Schools 119 

bolts one end of a wagon axle, spindle up. Upon the 
spindle place a wagon wheel, and to the wheel attach 
ropes, about as long as the pole. Place the big end 
of the pole in the ground three or four feet, and brace 
it from the four points of the compass. The ropes 
will hang down from the wheel in such a way that the 
children may take hold of them, swing, jump, and 
run around the pole. The one described was rather 
inexpensive. A telephone company donated a dis- 
carded pole, a farmer a discarded wagon wheel and 
axle. The only expense was that of paying a black- 
smith for attaching the wheel to the pole and the 
cost of the ropes — about $2. It furnished one of 
the most attractive pieces of apparatus on the play- 
ground. 

An inexpensive swing may be constructed by plac- 
ing four 4 X 4's in the ground in a slanting position, 
two being opposite each other and meeting at the top 
in such a way as to form a fork. The pairs may be 
ten or twelve feet apart, and a pole or heavy gal- 
vanized pipe, to which swings may be attached, 
wired, nailed, or bolted to the crotches formed by the 
pieces placed in the ground. The cost of this ap- 
paratus will be : Four pieces, 4" X 4", 14 ft. long, 
$1.25 ; one piece galvanized pipe, 3", 12 ft. long, $2.50. 

Boards of education could well afford to purchase 
one or more basketballs, and a few baseballs and bats 
for the boys. These things more than pay for them- 
selves in the added interest which boys and girls who 



120 The Transformation of the Rural School 

have them take in the school. For much of the 
apparatus suggested above the wide-awake board of 
education and teacher will see opportunities to use 
material less expensive than that suggested. And 
to such persons many pieces of apparatus not speci- 
fied here will suggest themselves to fit particular needs 
and opportunities. 

General instruction in agriculture 

A great fault with the district schools has been an 
inclination to think that anything close at hand is 
too mean and common to be considered as subject 
matter for instruction. The thought has usually 
been that the school would prepare the learner for 
some brilliant calling away off where things are 
better and life is easier and more beautiful. As a 
result, the country schools have been educating boys 
and girls away from the farm. The new method is 
that of educating them to appreciate what is under 
their feet and all around them, through an intimate 
knowledge of the processes of nature and industry 
as carried on in their midst. 

One of the more direct means of educating the 
boys and girls for a happy, contented life on the 
farm is to teach them while young the rudiments of 
agriculture. This method is now actually being put 
into practice in thousands of the rural schools. The 
state of Kansas recently enacted a law requiring all 
candidates for teachers' certificates to pass a test in 



Plate XIV. 




Teaching Elementary Agriculture 121 

the elements of agriculture and also requiring that 
the rudiments of this subject be taught in every dis- 
trict school. Other states have similar laws. As a 
result of this and like provisions, there is now a tre- 
mendous awakening in the direction named. The 
boys and girls in the country schools are rinding 
new meaning and a new interest in the fields and 
farms upon which they are growing up. 

It is a comparatively simple matter, that of 
teaching the young how the plant germinates and 
grows, how the seed is produced, and how farm crops 
are cared for and harvested. Likewise, it is easy to 
describe the elements of the various types of soil and 
to show how these elements contribute to the life 
and growth of the plant. The questions of moisture 
in its relation to plant life, of insects harmful and 
helpful to growing crops and animals, of the bird life 
as related in its economic aspects to farming — all 
such matters can be easily taught to children by the 
young-woman school teacher. It is only necessary 
for the latter to take an elementary course of in- 
struction herself, to read a number of collateral texts, 
and to get into the spirit of the undertaking. In a 
similar manner, instruction in regard to farm animals 
may be given, the emphasis being placed upon the 
consideration of the types of live stock actually raised 
and marketed in the home neighborhood. 

It must be emphasized that these matters relating 
to elementary agriculture and animal husbandry 



122 The Transformation of the Rural School 

can be made just as interesting and quite as cultural 
as any of the subjects in the general curriculum of the 
schools. Wherefore, the rural dweller who catches 
the spirit of such instruction should lead out in the 
securing of public measures and public improve- 
ments looking toward an early embodiment of these 
new subjects within the prescribed course of study. 

Domestic economy and home sanitation 

The time is now at hand when the district school 
failing to give any attention to practical household 
affairs is to be classed as out of date and unprogressive. 
Well- written texts and pamphlets covering the home- 
keeping subjects are now both available and cheap, 
so that the excuse for deferring their use is approach- 
ing the zero point. 

Of course it is impracticable as yet to have ap- 
paratus for cooking and sewing installed in the one- 
teacher district school, but the bare rudiments of 
these subjects may nevertheless be taught with the 
expectation that home practice may be thereby 
improved and better understood. Perhaps the 
most practical method of present procedure is that 
of organizing an independent class of the girls of 
suitable age and meeting them informally. The 
texts and pamphlets furnished by the college ex- 
tension departments may be followed. In case of 
graded and high school courses this work should by all 
means be carried on as a regular class exercise. 



Many Schools too Small 123 

Home sanitation may easily and profitably be 
taught in the district school, even though only one 
or two periods per week be set apart for the purpose. 
Perhaps the best method of instruction is that of 
presenting carefully one specific lesson at a time. 
For example, pure drinking water, clean milk, food 
contamination by house flies may be treated each 
in its turn. Adequate charts and illustrations should 
be brought into service. 

Consolidation of rural schools 

There is much agitation nowadays in regard to 
consolidating the rural schools. Although present 
progress is slow, it seems comparatively certain that 
the one-teacher rural school is destined in time to be- 
come a thing of the past. However, there is no par- 
ticular haste in the matter, provided some such plans 
as the foregoing be put into effect in case of the 
single school. Perhaps the sparsely settled district 
has the greatest justification for looking toward con- 
solidation. It happens that there are thousands of 
small schools having an attendance of from five to 
ten pupils. In such an instance, it is practically im- 
possible to do the best work, the children lacking the 
spur of rivalry and enthusiasm and the helpful les- 
sons in social ethics offered only by the larger massing 
of the young at play. 

In many places, three or four rural districts are 
uniting in this movement, the general plan being 



124 The Transformation of the Rural School 

that of constructing a central building with ample 
working space for all, and then transporting the 
children to and from the school. The scheme is 
working well as a rule. Among the great advantages 
is that of a possible grading of the school so that 
the teacher may have time for each subject and more 
opportunity for specialization. Perhaps the most 
serious and difficult part of the plan is that of pro- 
viding a safe and suitable means of conveyance to and 
from the school. Some excellent patterns of school 
wagons are already on the market, while manu- 
facturers are constantly at work improving them. So 
we may expect better results as time goes on. It 
has already been shown very satisfactorily that the 
conveyance, when in charge of a well-trained driver, 
furnishes improved moral and physical safeguards for 
the child. 

More high schools needed 

Not only every county, but also every rural 
township, should have its well-equipped high school. 
It is a serious matter to send boys and girls in their 
middle teens away to college. Many lives are thus 
more or less ruined simply from too early loss of 
the personal restraints and influence of the parents. 
But with a first-class high school in easy reach 
the young people may at least return home for the 
Saturday-Sunday recess and thereby continue in the 
close councils of their parents. And then, the 



Plate XV. 






Figs. 17-21. — This magnificent consolidated sehool in Winnebago 
County, Illinois, was inspired by the excellent work of the well- 
known Superintendent 0. J. Kern. The four little one-room 
buildings illustrated above gave way to it. 



New Type of Rural Teacher 125 

rightly-managed high school will bring the student 
into closer touch with the local rural problems that 
may not be possible in case of the distant institution. 
In the location of high schools intended to serve the 
rural interests there should be an effort to keep away 
from the towns and cities. In the latter places the 
allurements of the cheap theater and the snobbery 
that often invades the city high school are illustra- 
tions of the evils that serve to entice the young away 
from the substantial things of life. A good county 
or township high school located centrally and in 
the open country is ideal. At such a location it is 
vastly easier than in the city to center the attention 
of the students upon the rural problems, not to 
mention the greater availability of demonstrations 
on farm and garden plots. 

Better rural teachers needed 

The ideal preparation for a teacher in the rural 
school is a complete course in a first-class agricultural 
college, with the inclusion of a few terms' work in 
the educational subjects. So long as we send into 
the district schools young teachers who have been 
taught merely in the common text-book branches, 
and whose training has been exclusively pedagogical, 
the practice of educating the boys and girls away from 
the farm will go on. The country school is, in its best 
sense, an industrial school ; and only those teachers 
can do best work therein who have had the personal 



126 The Transformation of the Rural School 

experience in industrial training and the changed 
point of view which only the agricultural college 
can give. So if the board of trustees in any rural 
district really wishes to unite in supporting an effec- 
tive back-to-the-farm movement, let them offer to 
some country-reared graduate of the agricultural 
college a salary of about twice or three times the 
amount usually paid. After a few terms of school 
taught by such a person, the good effects on the 
rural uplift will most certainly reveal themselves. 
But so long as school trustees continue to try to 
drive a sharp bargain in the employment of teachers 
— securing the one with the passable county cer- 
tificate who will teach for the least wages — the 
boys will continue to run off to town for "jobs" 
and the parents will continue to "move to town to 
educate their children." 

There is some hope of a new ideal in relation to 
the country school teacher; namely, that he shall 
be a man in every sense, worthy of a salary large 
enough to support himself and his family the year 
round as residents of the community. Then we 
shall have a profession of teaching in the rural 
school work. 

REFERENCES 

Annual Report Page County (Iowa) Schools. Miss Jessie Field, Superin- 
tendent (Clarinda). 
The reader who is especially interested in this chapter is urged to be- 
come acquainted with the splendid work accomplished for the district 



Plate XVI. 




2 .8 3 



£ 5 C 



Literature on the Rural School 127 

schools of Page County, la., by Superintendent Jessie Field. As indi- 
cated by her published annuals, and otherwise, she has led all the other 

young women superintendents in the work of organizing the boys and 

girls into clubs and classes for the study of school gardening, bread 

making, grain propagation, and the like. 

Report of the Committee on Industrial Education in Schools for Rural 
Communities, of the National Educational Association. 

Among Country Schools. O. J. Kern. Ginn & Co. A clear, help- 
ful, and inspiring text. 

The American Rural School. H. W. Foght. Macmillan. Covers the 
entire subject carefully. 

The School and Society. John Dewey. McClure, Phillips & Co., New 
York. 

The School and its Life. Charles B. Gilbert. Chapter XXII, "Home 
and School." McClurg. 

Efficient Democracy. Wm. H. Allen. Chapter VII, " School Efficiency." 
Dodd, Mead & Co. A most helpful and stimulating volume. 

The School as a Social Institution. Henry Suzzallo. Monograph. 
Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Wider Use of the School Plant. Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter VI, 
"School Playgrounds." Charities Publication Committee, New 
York. 

Education in the Country for the Country. J. W. Zeller. Annual Vol- 
ume N.E.A., 1910, p. 245. 

Teachers for the Rural Schools ; Kind Wanted ; How to secure Them. 
L. J. Alleman. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 280. 

The State Board of Health of Maine (Augusta) issues a series of prac- 
tical pamphlets on health and sanitation in the school and the home. 

The Most Practical Industrial Education for the Country Child. 
Superintendent O. J. Kern. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1906, p. 198. 

Among School Gardens. M. Louise Green, Ph.D. Charities Publication 
Committee, New York. 

A Model Rural School House. Henry S. Curtis. Educational Founda- 
tions, April, 1911. A. S. Barnes & Co. Dr. Curtis is a national 
authority on the question of the school playground. 

Education for Efficiency. E. Davenport. D. C. Heath. A most able 
plea for making the schools serve every worthy interest. 



128 The Transformation of the Rural School 

Changing Conceptions of Education. E. P. Cubberly. Monograph. 
Houghton Mifflin Company. 

Methods of conducting Book and Demonstration Work in teaching 
Elementary Agriculture. O. H. Benson. Bureau of Plant Indus- 
try, Washington, D.C. An excellent guide. 

Report of Committee to investigate Rural School Conditions. Superin- 
tendent E. T. Fairchild and others. Address the Secretary N.E.A., 
Winona, Minn. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE COUNTY YOUNG MEN'S CHRISTIAN 
ASSOCIATION 

Among the movements of first importance looking 
toward the uplift of young men is that named at the 
head of this chapter. Parallel with the intensive 
and systematic effort to build up the commercial 
life of the city and allow the country district to 
take care of itself, has been a like effort to provide for 
the care and development of the city boy and the 
uniform neglect of the needs and interests of the 
country boy. Now, here at last is a movement 
that is proving a real means of salvation of the rural 
youth, mind, body, and soul. 

President Henry J. Waters, of the Kansas State 
Agricultural College, struck the keynote of this 
young country-life movement most effectively in a 
recent address when he said: "We believe in the 
existence of a social renaissance. One needs only 
to read the daily and weekly papers printed in 
hundreds of prosperous villages and cross roads 
corners, the faithful chroniclers of the community's 
activities, to find buoyant hope of the future of 
farm life. 

k 129 



130 County Young Men's Christian Association 

"The dignity of labor; the close connection 
between heads and hands ; the monthly or weekly 
meetings of farmers' institutes in hundreds of 
counties ; the special lectures provided by agricul- 
tural colleges ; the movable schools ; the farmers' 
winter short courses, in which thousands of men and 
women and boys and girls participate ; corn contests ; 
bread contests ; sewing contests ; play carnivals ; 
poultry-raising contests ; stock-raising contests ; con- 
ferences on the country church, country school, good 
roads — all these activities denote the growth of a 
new and mighty spirit in the country life of America. 

"We need further demonstrations, together with 
concrete thinking, a lot of constructive programs, 
and a deal of hard work and self-sacrifice, in which 
the county work department of the Young Men's 
Christian Association can have no little share, to 
speed on the great epoch of rural social renaissance." 

Boys leave the farm too young 

It is a tragic story when the whole truth is known, 
that of the young boy running off to town in search of 
some employment that will bring him a little ready 
cash for spending money, and also in search of the 
sociability so woefully lacking in the rural home 
environment. Too long have the country parents 
attempted to argue and scold and force their boys 
to remain at home where they are confronted only 
with the monotony of hard work and a very dim 



Keeping the Boys on the Farm 131 

prospect of a possible land or other property inherit- 
ance. So at last there is being raised the very im- 
portant questions, What is the matter with the 
country boy ? and What can be done to help him ? 
Knowledge of the fact that more than one-half of 
the boys of the United States are living in farm 
homes makes the problem of their individual sal- 
vation assume momentous proportions. 

There can be no reasonable thought of holding 
all the boys on the farm. Many of them are best 
fitted by nature to go elsewhere and find suitable 
employment, but there is every good reason for 
preventing the great exodus of immature youths 
who run off to the cities, not knowing what they are 
to face and without any well-defined purpose. Yes, 
the great concerns of the towns and cities must con- 
tinue to call many of the brainiest young men from 
the rural districts. In fact, the country may with 
every good reason be considered the proper breeding 
ground for the virile minds destined to control the 
great affairs of nation, state, and municipality. 
But every reasonable effort must be put forth to 
keep the boy in his country home until his character 
is relatively matured and his plans for a future 
career are fairly well defined. 

Purposes of the County Y.M.C.A. 

Doubtless the first chief purpose of the county 
association is that of building up the boy's character 



132 County Young Men's Christian Association 

and finally perfecting his spiritual nature. But this 
high aim is not sought in the old-fashioned, direct 
manner. Instead, there is a studied effort to build 
up the boy gradually through the enlistment of 
his natural interests in matters that lie dormant in 
his home environment. The truly scientific method 
in this field is first concerned with providing means 
whereby the boy may work out his own spiritual 
salvation. Along with the farm labors, tedious and 
irksome to him when undertaken as exclusive re- 
quirements, the country boy is given an opportunity 
to take part in certain athletic and social exercises 
which appeal to his instincts and arouse the sponta- 
neity from the depths of his own nature. 

In carrying on the country work, an attempt is 
made to approach the boy from the peculiar situations 
of his home environment. What specific readjust- 
ments are needed in his home life in respect to the 
amount of work required of him ? What of the rec- 
reation he enjoys ? The local society in which he 
moves ? The home church and Sunday school ? 
The temptations that may lie near about him ? and so 
on. These and many other such inquiries are made 
with a view to dealing with the boy in an individual 
way and reestablishing his life for the better. 

HOW TO ORGANIZE A COUNTY ASSOCIATION 

Unless it may chance that, after a brief survey of 
the field, some person from the outside comes in 



Plate XVII. 




* £ 



A Good Leader Necessary 133 

to perfect the organization of the county association, 
any interested person within the limits of the county 
must make the start. Devotion to the cause, 
persistence, and unfailing enthusiasm are perhaps 
the best personal equipment for the local beginner 
of this new work. His first concern should be that 
of gathering a committee of men like himself from 
different parts of the county. Doubtless these will 
form themselves into a sort of brotherhood commit- 
tee. After such temporary organization, the next 
important step is that of securing an able county 
leader. 

1. Choose a good leader. — Now, the success of 
the movement is to depend very largely upon the 
character of the leader to be chosen. If the right 
man be selected, no matter how hard the con- 
ditions, he will be able finally to bring system and 
order and spiritual progress out of it all. The 
important characteristics of the ideal leader of 
country boys are comparatively few. First of all, 
he must, of course, be moved by a sense of devotion 
to the cause of Christianity — the up-building 
of the characters, especially the spiritual natures, 
of young men. He should be a man who has been 
trained in a good college, if possible a graduate, with 
experience in the Y.M.C.A. and other like or- 
ganizations. He should have had some special 
training in such subjects as psychology, sociology, 
and economics, and should be fairly well versed in 



134 County Young Men's Christian Association 

the literature of these subjects. He should be espe- 
cially fond of boys and boy life and interested in 
the conduct of people of every kind and sort. He 
should be somewhat trained in athletics and an en- 
thusiastic supporter of clean sports. He should 
have what is known as good business sense. It 
may not be essential, but it will certainly prove 
advantageous, if the chosen leader has himself 
been reared in the country. 

2. Local leaders necessary. — After the leader has 
been selected, the next step is that of the appoint- 
ment of carefully chosen leaders for the local neighbor- 
hoods. These may be men of almost any age from 
middle life down, but perhaps the ideal age would be 
that of a few years older than any of the boys of 
the neighborhood. All must be enlisted if possible, 
not one being slighted or offended. 

3. A committee on finance. — An able finance 
committee is also of high importance. This should 
consist of men chosen especially for their unusual 
ability as solicitors and persuaders of men in a 
financial way. Let these workers go over the county 
soliciting funds for the organization, providing 
from the first especially that the secretary shall be 
well paid for his services. Close-fisted residents, as 
well as all others, in every nook and corner of the 
territory must be seen and asked to contribute. It 
should be a comparatively easy matter to show men 
who cannot appreciate the social and spiritual needs 



Little Property to be Owned 135 

of the boys that the new movement will most cer- 
tainly increase general property values and bring 
up the price of land. 

4. Little property ownership. — While new, the 
county organization should guard against attempting 
to own and control any considerable amount of 
property or equipment. Not the material goods 
possessed, but the strength and force of the spiritual 
enthusiasm will have greatest value in carrying on 
the work. It will be found quite satisfactory in 
nearly every case to have the boys meet in some 
farm home, village club room, or country school- 
house. And then, there is always danger of develop- 
ing a Y.M.C.A. too exclusively as a business organi- 
zation. There are many instances in the towns 
and cities where this is deplorably true. The best 
spirit of the work is submerged by the continuous 
hounding of the people in the skirmish for funds to 
keep going the over-heavy business machinery of 
the institution. There often develops, in such 
cases, a large body of men who regard the Y.M.C.A. 
as an organization of loafers and easy-going money 
spenders. Once such sentiment develops, it is des- 
perately difficult to eradicate it. So the country 
Y.M.C.A. should preserve the semblance of humility, 
and that partly by getting along with almost no prop- 
erty or equipment other than what its own members 
may provide in a crude fashion and what may be 
necessary to furnish the office of the general secretary. 



136 County Young Men's Christian Association 

HOW TO CONDUCT THE WORK 

One of the first steps in conducting the new work 
is that of making a survey of the entire county. 
The names, ages, and location of all the boys must 
be secured, together with some items respecting 
their present social and religious affiliations. In 
fact, the more personal items included in the first 
survey, the better. Some boys will at first look 
with disfavor upon the new movement, believing 
that it is merely another scheme to convert them 
to religion and get them into a church. Care must 
be taken to disabuse the boy's mind of this thought 
from the very beginning. Therefore, it may be well 
not to try to hustle him into a Bible-study class the 
first time he is invited out. While the main issue, 
namely, that of spiritual development of the boy, 
is not to be forgotten, he must nevertheless be led 
to this goal through the path of many very common 
instrumentalities. A Y.M.C.A. athletic meet would 
most probably prove a better opening number than 
a Bible-study class or merely a religious service. As 
the work proceeds, the occasions for a great variety 
of exercises and programs will present themselves. 
Among these perhaps there would be the follow- 
ing : — 

1 . Local and county athletic clubs. — The athletic 
event is one of the easiest to put on in a newly 
organized boys' club. An able leader, perhaps the 



Subjects for Debating Clubs 137 

county secretary, should be present to preside over 
the event, inducing the boys to form a baseball 
club, or a basketball team ; or at least to arrange 
for some event in which they can all participate, 
although that may be as simple a thing as swim- 
ming or jumping. Introduce at once the thought of 
practice and the development of skill, holding out 
the plan of a county organization and a county 
field meet in the future, which all may attend and 
in which the ablest shall have promise of a con- 
spicuous part. 

2. Debating and literary clubs. — There is always 
the possibility of a literary society, provided the thing 
be carefully instituted. The secret of successful 
debates among persons of any class is to find a 
"burning" question. So, avoid such matters as 
Tariff Reform and the World Peace Movement 
and come right down home to some perplexing 
problem in the lives of the boys of the club. Some- 
thing about their work, their lack of recreation, 
their chances against those of city boys, and so on, 
will arouse interest and bring out rough debating 
material. Find latent talent of other sorts in the 
club. Some boy can sing ; perhaps another can play 
a musical instrument ; still another one may be a 
natural-born storyteller ; a fourth may be an expert 
acrobat and tree climber ; a fifth a shrewd hunter or 
trapper of wild animals. In this way, nearly every 
boy can be led to take part in a general program. 



138 County Young Men's Christian Association 

Thus, while contributing something toward the 
entertainment of all, each boy's active participation 
will go far by way of awakening his personal interest 
in the new life. 

3. Receptions and suppers. — After the boys get 
fairly under way with their club, they may need 
to arrange an oyster supper or some such affair 
at which they will discuss their many mutual prob- 
lems. On some such occasions they may desire 
to invite their parents to come and enjoy the program, 
also to participate in the discussion of their affairs. 
This form of close association will be found especially 
enticing to the boys, giving them a good, clean 
place to go for social enjoyment and something 
to look forward to in their thoughts during the some- 
what prosaic hours of the day in the field. 

4. Educational tours and problems. — The boys 
may find it feasible to go in a body once or twice a 
year on an educational tour — to the state fair ; to 
study some particular thing in the city ; to gather 
data for the solution of some local problem ; to 
make a study of the habitat of some bird or ani- 
mal ; to gather specimens of rocks or plants ; and 
so on. In case of any such trip there is not a little 
necessity of some college-trained person as overseer, 
so that the study may be made intensive and not 
become dissipated in mere sport and fun. It is 
usually advisable to make a careful study of only 
one thing at a time. 



Plate XVIII. 




c .2 



Sanitation at the Camp 139 

5. Camping and hiking. — The boys of the county 
should be brought together at least once a year in a 
summer camp. Farmers will soon learn to appreciate 
the value of such things in the life of the boy and will 
gladly allow him a few days' vacation for the purpose. 
The boy who enjoys such a privilege will more than 
pay it back through the extra amount of work his 
enthusiasm will naturally prompt him to perform. 
For the camp site there should be selected some 
shady woodland with a good stream of water for 
fishing and swimming. A crude lodge may be con- 
structed and all the necessary crude camp equipment 
provided. Each boy will want to carry his own 
blanket and extra clothing. 

One matter must be considered in all seriousness ; 
namely, the sanitation of the camp. Even at the 
outlay of a comparatively heavy expense, the camp 
food supplies, including the dining table, should be 
screened off from flies. The garbage therefore will 
all be scrupulously buried, and it will be ascertained 
with certainty that the drinking water is free from 
disease organisms. Then, the boys may sleep on 
the ground, wallow in the dirt, splash in the water 
and mud as they please and return home in the 
best of health. 

6. Exhibitions. — It has been found practicable 
to have the boys prepare during the season for 
coming together with a county exhibit, including 
a wide variety of things peculiar to their interests. 



140 County Young Men's Christian Association 

This exhibition should be made as a big annual 
event, if possible, such as will attract all manner 
of persons and make friends for the county associa- 
tion. In its ideal arrangement the money expense 
will be kept down to a minimum. Also keep out 
the idea of premiums. The contest plan of pro- 
motion will some day receive its desired consider- 
ation and lose its place as a means of promoting 
social and spiritual well-being. As a matter of 
fact it fosters much envy, ill-feeling, and bitter strife 
and thus strikes at the root of the good-fellowship 
which you are striving to encourage. But, urge 
every boy to bring something for the sake of the help 
he may contribute and let the honor of this service 
and the approbation of his fellows be his high reward. 
One boy may come with a mammoth pumpkin ; 
another with a device of his own invention for catch- 
ing ground squirrels ; still another with a new 
method of tying a knot ; another with a bushel 
of highly bred corn ; others with farm and garden 
produce of the same attractive nature ; others with 
wild grasses, curios, or geological specimens ; others 
with the parts of a miniature menagerie. One 
boy may have have caught a badger alive ; another 
a coyote ; another a jack rabbit ; another a huge 
turtle. Another may bring a cage of rattlesnakes 
or a box full of snakes of all sorts ; another a set of 
original plans and specifications — for an ideal 
farmhouse, or farm barn and surroundings; for 



Materials for the Boys' Fair 141 

making the well sanitary; for a milk house; for 
keeping flies out of the house or barn ; a recipe 
for driving ants and other insects from the house. 
The boys in one family may come with a lot of 
samples of soil, showing how differently each must 
be treated for the same general crop results. Others 
may bring specimens of "cheat" and noxious weeds, 
and the like, with a scheme for destroying them. 
Another may have a plan for a patent churn or a 
labor-saving device in the kitchen. 

Thus there may be brought to the boys' fair an 
interesting and most instructive variety of objects, 
plans, and devices, all looking toward the improve- 
ment of home conditions. Such a gathering as this 
will bring not only the parents and other adults from 
the home county, but great flocks of outsiders 
will also come in and learn and become deeply 
interested in the affairs of the County Young Men's 
Christian Association. 

Spirituality not lost sight op 

It ought to be easy for the average thinker to 
appreciate the fact that all the foregoing rough-and- 
ready work in the lives of the boys can be made a 
practical means of the salvation of their souls as well 
as of their bodies and intellects. Spiritual perfec- 
tion is not reached at a bound. There must be 
much doing of the crude yet worthy things which 
grow naturally out of his inner nature before the boy 



142 County Young Men's Christian Association 

can finally achieve a degree of spiritual development 
that may prove a permanent and fixed part of his 
adult life. Yes, there will be some Bible study, an 
occasional short prayer, and now and then a real 
sermonette in connection with the work of the or- 
ganization, but much more frequently the Christian 
life and character will come as a sort of discovery in 
the boy's life and that through his own conduct. 

Through all this wholesome exercise of his better 
and cleaner interests, the youth will gradually be 
led away and kept away from those things which 
contaminate both the body and the spirit and intro- 
duce the individual to a coarse, debauched life. In 
other words, Christianity will be a thing achieved and 
that through the young man's efforts rather than a 
thing instantly caught in some emotional revival 
meeting only gradually to waste away in the months 
immediately following. One well-built specimen of 
Christian manhood — a character of the sort which 
the ideal work of the County Y.M.C.A. may finally 
construct — is worth a dozen of those suddenly con- 
verted men whose secret lives are so often embittered 
with the consciousness of backsliding and following 
ever after the old evil ways. 

It will be observed at a glance that in the foregoing 
outline there is an avoidance of the heavier workaday 
tasks and problems. It is the thought of the author 
that the boys have quite enough of such labor as it is 
and that the County Y.M.C.A. can do its best serv- 



Make the Work Intensive 143 

ice if it provides a set of new activities of a more 
recreative sort. The central idea — second to the 
perfection of his spiritual nature — is that of giving 
the boy a larger amount of social experience through 
self-training in matters that will bring out his latent 
unselfishness and his self-reliance. The heavier 
problems of an economic sort suitable for discussion 
among the boys and the girls of the country districts 
will have due consideration in another chapter. 

In planning the various parts of the county work 
and the club life of the boys, there must be extreme 
care not to arrange for too many and too frequent 
meetings. It is especially to be desired that the 
boy do not acquire the runabout habit, even though 
he may in every case go to a desirable place. There- 
fore, in arranging the programs it will be seen to that 
the meetings are held somewhat infrequently, but 
that on each occasion the meeting be continued 
until some intensive work has been done. For 
example, it would be much preferable to have all or 
a major part of one afternoon and evening of the 
week for the exercises rather than to have brief 
evening meetings a number of times during the week. 

Work in a sparsely settled country 

The following statement will show what was 
achieved during the first year in the Y.M.C.A. of 
Washington County, Kansas, which has a rural 
population of about ten thousand people. 



144 County Young Men's Christian Association 

General Statement : — 

181 boys enrolled in Bible-study groups, meeting 
weekly. 

35 men give time to the supervision and planning 
of the work. 

236 boys attended ten boys' banquets. 

51 out-of-town delegates attended the county 
convention. 

175 men and boys attended the convention ban- 
quet. 

161 boys took part in the relay race. 

91 men and boys on baseball teams. 

24 boys played basketball. 

56 men attended 10 leaders' conferences. 

65 men conducted one day financial canvass. 

200 boys given physical examination. 

26 took part in the annual athletic meet. 

13 young men's Sundays conducted by secretary. 

6000 miles (approx.) traveled by secretary. 

283 citizens back of work. 

Financial Statement : — 

Pledges unpaid from previous year $120.25 

Pledges for year 1568.25 $1688.50 

Received during year .... 1386.15 

Due unpaid pledges 302.35 $1688.50 

Amount paid 1352.89 

Due unpaid 298.00 

Available balance 37.61 $1688.50 



Association Literature 145 

REFERENCES 

Neighborhood Improvement Clubs. Professor E. L. Holton. Agricul- 
tural Extension Bulletin, Manhattan, Kan. 
Camping for Boys. H. W. Gibson. Association Press, New York. 

Careful directions for camp life. 
Training for Boys ; Symposium. Harper's Bazaar, March, April, August, 

September, November, 1910. 
Keeping Home Ties from Breaking. E. A. Halsey. World To-day, 

January, 1911. 
Training Men to work for Men. E. A. Halsey. World To-day, March, 

1911. 
The Organization and Administration of Athletics. Dr. Clark W. Heth- 

erington. Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907, p. 930. 
Rural Manhood, issue of June, 1910. Rural Leadership Number. 
Social Activities for Men and Boys. Albert M. Chisley. Y.M.C.A. 

Press, New York. A valuable book covering a wide variety of 

activities. 
Rural Manhood. Henry Israel, editor. 50 cents per year. A most 

valuable exponent of the County Y.M.C.A. work. 
The Physical Life of the Boy. Dr. D. G. Wilcox. (Pamphlet.) Address, 

Federated Boys' Clubs, Boston. 



CHAPTER X 

THE FARMER AND HIS WIFE AS LEADERS 
OF THE YOUNG 

No less urgent and divine is the call for spiritual 
aid and leadership in the rural districts to-day than 
was that which came to the apostle Paul of old in 
form of a vision and a voice crying, "Come over 
into Macedonia and help us." In the open country 
field, far removed from church or social center, is the 
demand for leaders and directors especially great. 
Men engage for a lifetime in an enthusiastic endeavor 
to amass wealth and to build up great business con- 
cerns. But the man or woman who heeds the call 
to go forth into the country districts and save the 
bodies and souls of the young — that person will 
not only experience exceeding great joy and enthu- 
siasm in his work, but he will thereby lay up for him- 
self in the memories of the redeemed a precious 
treasury of golden deeds. 

Country parents as a rule are not in a position to do 
the best things even for their own children, much 
less to go out as leaders of the young at large. They 
are sometimes lacking in the necessary means, more 
frequently too busy, and most frequently not suffi- 

146 



A Call for Leaders 147 

ciently informed as to be fully awake to the meanings 
and possibilities of any such undertaking. However, 
in nearly every country neighborhood there is a man 
or woman, or both, who possess many of the big 
opportunities for enlisting in the service of the young. 
Those who have no small children of their own to 
care for would naturally be freest to get away from 
the present home duties. Then, some parents hav- 
ing children of their own not infrequently catch the 
inspiration and heed the call. At any rate, it is en- 
tirely fair and reasonable to assume that some one 
of the neighborhood could do it were there the dis- 
position. 

As a means of arousing any such persons to attempt 
to do some constructive work among country boys 
and girls, the following detailed suggestions are 
offered. Those who feel at all called to undertake 
this service may be assured that the interest grows 
more intense with time and effort put forth, and that 
the joy of accomplishing something in behalf of the 
young people of one's own vicinity is perhaps unsur- 
passed by that of any other type of human endeavor. 
In the discussions to follow we assume that some 
farmer and his wife have heeded this divine call. 

Preparation for the service 

Since very few are sufficiently versatile to under- 
take any and every kind of social work, perhaps the 
first step is that of choosing a definite line of action. 



148 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

And let the choice be in the direction of the chooser's 
leading social interest. As a means of preparation 
for efficient work a brief course of training is to be 
much commended. It may be found practicable to 
slip away from home during the winter months and 
take a farmers' short course in one of the agricultural 
colleges. Or, one may find the peculiar instruction 
and inspiration needed by attending a convention or 
conference of the ablest leaders representative of the 
work. One of the rural-life conferences now fre- 
quently held might be found ideal. Go prepared to 
take notes, to ask questions, and especially to obtain 
a large number of literary references. 

The use of helpful literature is most important at 
this stage. A magazine which admirably covers this 
particular field is Rural Manhood, published by the 
Association Press, New York City. Then, secure 
the report of the Country Life Commission, and a 
number of the latest works of a similar nature, some 
of which are listed below. Write to the Department 
of Agriculture at Washington for their bulletin on 
the organization of boys' and girls' clubs. Also from 
the extension department of the agricultural college 
may be obtained for the asking all available literature 
of this same general class. 

Now, make a careful survey of the neighborhood, or 
the larger field, with a view to finding out the specific 
conditions in relation to the chosen line of service. 
Make lists of names and ages of the boys and girls, 



Social Unity the Idea 149 

including all other data of a helpful nature. Proceed 
with the thought that the work to be undertaken is 
not to be merely a means of entertainment, but of 
education for the young. 

Work persistently for social unity 

In his most instructive volume "The Rural Church 
and Community Achievement," President Butter- 
field says : "We are in great need in this country of 
an institution or institutions which have for their 
definite objective the study of the conditions and 
problems of farm home-life; not merely the matter 
of home management, or home keeping, but the 
fundamental relationships of the family to the develop- 
ment of a better community life in the rural regions." 
Now, let the newly enlisted social worker assume that 
he is to undertake something by way of bringing 
about a fuller integration and unity of the people 
of the neighborhood. 

Every new worker in the social field needs a word 
of warning against the rebukes and discouragements 
with which he may at first meet. To say the best, 
the neighborhood will doubtless be indifferent in 
regard to the newly proposed organization. But 
let the social worker go on persistently, unmindful 
of any such hindrance, even though scarcely a per- 
son in the neighborhood seems ready to join in the 
movement. In the typical case of valuable construc- 
tive work of this sort, it will be found at first that the 



150 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

masses are practically all opposed to the plan. How- 
ever, as fast as it wins its way through unrelenting 
effort and unswerving devotion, the doubters and 
opposers will come over to its support. And after 
the movement has established itself reasonably well 
and achieved something worth while, the same people 
who once stood out will then fall enthusiastically 
into line and help with the undertaking. 

It will be impossible, of course, to point out defi- 
nitely to the local, self-appointed leader just what 
plan of social endeavor to follow. Since there is 
such a great variety of conditions, it seems advisable 
here to make a somewhat extended list of possible 
lines of work in the rural districts. 

CORN-RAISING AND BREAD-BAKING CLUBS 

Perhaps among the easiest organizations to effect 
among the young people of any farm district are the 
clubs or contests in juvenile farm work and home 
economics. The beginning of such a purpose will 
consist of getting into communication with the ex- 
tension department of the state agricultural college. 
After obtaining their literature and learning their 
methods of procedure, call the boys and girls together, 
asking their parents to come along. It may be 
found practicable to call a general meeting of the 
entire neighborhood, inviting old and young possibly 
to a basket dinner, and there to lay before them the 
plans of the organizations. While the contest in 



Plate XIX. 




(Courtesy <>f American Magazine.) 

Fio. $.'). — Jerry Moore, the champion boy corn raiser of the United 
States. He raided 258 bushels on a single acre of ground. 



Provisions for the State Institute 151 

corn-raising or bread-baking has proved a marked 
success where tried, if possible arrange matters so 
that every earnest endeavor on the part of the young 
shall receive a suitable reward, not merely the winners 
of the first and second prizes. 

It is usually an easy matter to secure funds for 
paying the way of the boys to the state-wide farmers' 
institute or the boys' institute usually held at the 
agricultural college during the holiday season. Pro- 
vide that every boy who reaches a certain standard — 
say, that of raising so many bushels of corn on an acre 
of land — shall go at the expense of the fund. 
Likewise, organize the girls into a bread-baking club 
or something of the sort. Prizes may be offered for 
the best bread, but all the girls whose home-making 
work meets a certain fixed standard of requirement 
should have promise of a suitable reward. Perhaps 
they too may be sent without expense to themselves 
to a state conference on home economics. In case 
of these trips to the state meetings it will be neces- 
sary to appoint responsible chaperons for the boys 
and girls. 

Other forms of contests 

It may be found advisable to start a good-roads 
contest among the boys of the home township, 
offering an attractive prize to the one who shows the 
best results at the end of a given period and a per 
diem payment of money to every boy who faithfully 



152 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

takes care of his half mile or quarter mile of public 
road. 

Then, there may be instituted on a small scale stock 
shows and poultry shows in the hands of the boys of 
the neighborhood. To this the girls too may come 
with any such thing as display specimens of their 
home sewing and fancy work, house plants, and the 
like. In fact, these exhibitions may gradually 
develop into a sort of neighborhood or township fair 
for the special benefit of the young. To this display 
may be brought, not only the items named imme- 
diately above, but the larger variety of things men- 
tioned in the chapter on the Rural Y.M.C.A. 

The improvement of the school situation 

Rural leaders will nearly always find many oppor- 
tunities for improving the local school situation. 
But let the organizer keep unfailingly in view the high 
aims of all this rural work; namely, the awakening 
of a deeper interest in the affairs that normally be- 
long to the neighborhood life, and the fuller measure 
of joy and contentment to result from every such 
achievement. So, there may be undertaken the 
redirection of the work of the country school. For 
example, bring forces to bear upon it that will result 
in the introduction of the study of elementary agri- 
culture and the simple elements of home keeping 
and home sanitation therein. Work for a better 
class of teachers and a higher salary payment. En- 



Improving the High School 153 

deavor to have the length of the school term extended 
and the school attendance made more regular. In- 
stitute a series of red-letter days for the school dur- 
ing the year. It may be practicable to have a 
"parents' day," an occasion on which all will be 
invited to come out and join the pupils in a noonday 
lunch and learn more about the progress and the 
needs of the school. Provide a half day for free and 
open discussion of school matters and if possible or- 
ganize among the patrons a sort of "boosters' club." 

Another form of endeavor in behalf of the schools 
is that of striving for improvement of the high school 
facilities of the neighborhood. Perhaps there is not 
a high school within riding distance of the homes. 
Cannot one be instituted, say, for the township ? 
Or, what can be done to improve the present neigh- 
borhood relations to the high school that may be 
already within reach ? Is there a prohibitive tui- 
tion fee ? Does the high school now in existence 
actually serve through its courses the best interests 
of young people who come in from the neighborhood ? 
Again, perhaps it would be feasible to organize the 
grown boys and girls who have dropped out of the 
country school into a neighborhood group and pro- 
vide a daily conveyance for taking them to and from 
the town high school. By this means, many may be 
induced to go to school who are idling away the valu- 
able winter months. 

During the last decade, what has been the trend of 



154 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

the young men and women who have gone from the 
home district to high school or college ? Have any 
of the best of them returned to the farm ? Or, have 
these institutions been a means of sending them away 
as permanent city dwellers ? Does this thing need 
to continue ? Cannot some movement be instituted 
for bringing about a radical change ? So long as the 
country boys and girls attend the town high schools 
and there be required to take the old-fashioned classi- 
cal courses — which have always served to introduce 
their minds to the city life and to the professional 
callings — the country districts will continue to be 
depleted of their best brains and energy. 

Home and school play problems 

Start a movement in the interest of better provided 
play opportunities for the children of the neighbor- 
hood. The possibilities of enriching and extending 
the young life through the avenue of better play are 
just beginning to be understood. We have always 
accepted the theory that young children must have 
some time to play, but we have given little or no heed 
to the matter of providing for their play such appara- 
tus as might furnish scientific contributions to the 
development of their characters. 

Make a brief inquiry throughout the neighborhood 
and you will perhaps find that not a single farm home 
has apparently given this matter any definite atten- 
tion. Now, what playthings may easily be provided 



A Model Playground 155 

in such homes ? After having determined that 
matter, begin a campaign of education of the rural 
parents. First, write to the Playground Association 
of America in New York City and ask for a list of 
their literature on play. From this source you will 
obtain pamphlets and larger volumes giving specific 
suggestions for installing rural play apparatus, and 
details as to dimensions, prices, and the like. Now, 
you are ready for work. Appeal to a centrally located 
family for their cooperation in establishing a model. 
Induce them to provide for their children a full set 
of the apparatus, seeing to it that the expense is kept 
down to the minimum. Nearly all of the materials 
of construction are lying about the ordinary farm 
home and need only to be assembled and put into 
place. Once you have established your model home 
playground, then invite your neighbors in to see it, 
perhaps making a sort of picnic or holiday occasion 
out of the affair. At any rate, you may be sure that 
the parents of the neighborhood will begin at once 
to copy the models and many will even improve upon 
them. 

Along with your efforts there may be necessary a 
campaign of instruction and admonition in relation 
to the play of the children. Many parents may be 
working their small boys and girls too hard and 
allowing not enough time for play. In this respect 
your persistent effort will in time show excellent 
results. 



156 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

Let us suppose that the farm home selected for the 
model playthings has at least one small boy and one 
small girl therein. Then, the following might be set 
up: — 

A swing, a seesaw, a sliding board or pole, a pair of 
rings, a trapeze, and a horizontal bar. Have all 
under shade if possible. Provide also a small play 
wagon and a cart or two, with a sand box for the 
small child. 

Inspect the district school in reference to play facil- 
ities and you may find nothing other than the bare 
ground with perhaps a baseball diamond. Here, 
then, is a rare opportunity for constructive work. 
Organize in your own way a boosters' club and pro- 
vide play apparatus. In Chapter VIII you will find 
full details as to the equipment best suited for the 
purpose. Provide in every case that the expense be 
minimized. Nearly all of the apparatus may be 
constructed free of cost by interested persons in the 
home neighborhood or in the near-by village. 

A NEIGHBORHOOD LIBRARY 

Another very enticing line of endeavor for the rural 
leader is that of establishing the country library. 
Some one in the neighborhood has a big house, one 
room or more of which may conveniently be set 
apart for the purpose. Induce the owners of this 
house to clear up a room and remodel it, if need be, 
and make their home a sort of intellectual center for 



A Neighborhood Library 157 

the district. Of course the schoolhouse or rural 
church may be available for the purpose, but the farm 
home will be better for a great many reasons, among 
them being the possibility of having the library open 
at all hours of the day so that books may be exchanged 
on the occasion of one's passing the place. Now, go 
after the well-to-do residents of the district and gather 
a fund for the library. Paint in glowing terms the 
visions you have of this thing when it has been set 
on foot. Declare your purpose as that of helping 
and uplifting the community life. Show the "close- 
fisted" resident that the establishment of a neighbor- 
hood library will attract desirable settlers into the 
district and improve prices of land and produce. 

After having obtained a small fund, consult the 
best authorities for advice in selecting the books. By 
all means avoid cheap stories and trash of every other 
sort. Since your work is in behalf of the young, 
obtain a few attractive and instructive picture books. 
There can probably be obtained a book which treats 
and illustrates fully the bird life of the local state, 
giving a brief description and pictures in their natu- 
ral color. Young people may be very much at- 
tracted by authentic books of the nature-study class, 
including those descriptive of wild animals and of 
hunting and exploring tales. Consult the lists given 
under the chapter on the literature in the country 
home for additional titles and suggestions. 

If it be found difficult or impracticable to purchase 



158 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

books for the neighborhood library, then, the next 
best thing will be the traveling library. Communi- 
cate with the state library association and learn 
definitely what may be obtained from that source. 
Then, proceed to bring the best available volumes 
into the neighborhood. In the selection of the library 
do not forget the local interest. Secure every at- 
tractive volume that will help to make the boys and 
girls acquainted with the best meanings of their own 
community life and more interested in staying by the 
home affairs and building them up. Not the least 
among the valuable elements of the neighborhood 
library will be the periodicals, in the selection of 
which expert advice is recommended. 

Holidays and recreation for the young 
In an ably written article published in Rural 
Manhood of January, 1910, John R. Boardman, 
International County Work Secretary, says: "A 
new gospel of the recreation life needs to be proclaimed 
in the country. Rural America must be compelled 
to play. It has to a degree toiled itself into deform- 
ity, disease, depravity, and depression. Its long 
hours of drudgery, its jealousy of every moment of 
daylight, its scorn of leisure and of pleasure must 
give way to shorter hours of labor, occasional periods 
of complete relaxation and whole-hearted partici- 
pation in wholesome plays, festivals, picnics, games, 
and other recreative amusements. Better health, 



A Weekly Half Holiday 159 

greater satisfaction, and a richer life wait on the wise 
development of this recreative ideal." 

A brief survey of the neighborhood will doubtless 
show the lack of general method in dealing with the 
farm boys' and girls' holidays and vacations during 
the long summer months. Here, then, is apparent 
another field for constructive leadership. In pro- 
ceeding to change the present situation, it may be 
well to gather a considerable list of authoritative 
statements like the one just quoted. Farm parents 
gradually fall into the habit of over-working their 
half-grown children. Now, if we can institute a 
custom of weekly half holidays for the young people 
of the neighborhood, a splendid work will be done 
in behalf of a higher community life. 

Begin work by selecting an attractive central 
location, and plan that the young, and the older ones, 
too, may come to this place one afternoon every week, 
or at least two afternoons every month, and have a 
good time generally. Games may be played, local 
clubs may meet in the shade of the trees, the sewing 
society and other groups of women having their in- 
terests served. The farmers' clubs may have op- 
portunity for helpful exchange of ideas, while the little 
children may play and romp about the premises. 
Invite all to come early in the afternoon and bring 
an evening lunch to be enjoyed in common. Thus, 
you may give the young people who regard their 
everyday work as drudgery, such interest and in- 



1G0 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

spiration as to tone up their lives noticeably for every 
hour of the long days of toil. 

Many over-work their children 

In connection with your efforts in behalf of the 
holiday or weekly picnic, take up carefully the matter 
of the proper amount of work for the farm boys and 
girls of any given age. You will find such willing- 
ness on the part of parents to do the right thing 
by their children and a proportionate amount of 
ignorance as to what ought to be done. Therefore, 
you may be able to carry on most profitably to all a 
campaign of instruction in regard to such thing. You 
will, of course, first make out as best you can with the 
aid of all available literature, an ideal schedule of 
hours of work and play and recreation suitable for 
the boys and girls of the different ages. 

At the holiday picnic it may be found advisable 
to organize the boys into a club of their own and the 
girls, likewise, for the promotion of their several 
and mutual interests. Inspire all with your earnest- 
ness and enthusiasm and lead them to consider the 
latent possibilities of the neighborhood, of how it 
might be transformed into a place of great worth and 
attractiveness. At the same country picnic, look 
to the practicability of organizing into a club the 
tired mothers of the district. They are many. You 
will know them by their careworn looks. Create a 
sentiment in behalf of more frequent outings and 



A Country Life Federation 161 

more recreation for these women. Help them obtain 
literature relative to their own affairs, to exchange 
ideas and plans in behalf of their own betterment. 
Show them especially the possibility of quitting the 
work at stated times even though that work be less 
than half finished, and getting away from the tedium 
thereof — all in the interest of longer life for them- 
selves and better service for their homes and fam- 
ilies. Almost any sort of club which these mothers 
can be induced to attend will achieve the purpose 
desired. 

Federation for country life progress 

Federations for country-life progress are now 
arising in many parts of the country. One of the 
first was organized in New England, under the 
leadership of President Butterfield. The Illinois 
movement may be described, as an example. 

The Illinois State Federation for Country Life 
Progress is composed of nearly half a hundred subor- 
dinate organizations. Their platform of ten prin- 
ciples given below sets forth a number of most im- 
portant and practical purposes, as follows : — 

1. Local country community building. 

2. The federation of all the rural forces of the 
state of Illinois in one big united effort for the bet- 
terment of country life. 

3. The development of institutional programs of 
action for all rural social agencies. This means a 



162 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

program of work for the school, another for the 
church, another for the farmers' institute, and 
so on. 

4. The stimulation of farmer leadership in the 
country community. 

5. The increase and improvement of professional 
leadership among country teachers, ministers, and all 
others who serve the rural community in offices of 
educational direction. 

6. The perpetuation among all the people of coun- 
try communities of a definite community ideal, and 
the concentrated effort of the whole community in 
concrete tasks looking toward the realization of this 
ideal. 

7. The recognition of the country school as the 
immediate initiator of progress in the average rural 
community of Illinois. 

8. The study and investigation of country life 
facts and conditions. 

9. The holding of annual country life confer- 
ences. 

10. The protection of this federation and of all 
country life from any form of exploitation. 

The vocations of boys and girls 

A most commendable work for the rural social 
leader would be that of showing the possibilities of 
guiding country boys and girls more scientifically 
in the direction of their coming vocational life. Too 



Training for a Vocation 163 

often, there may be found a mistaken farmer who is 
attempting to force his boy to take up the farm life 
when as a matter of fact the boy is in no sense fitted 
for such vocation and should be trained for a dis- 
tinctly different line of work. Then, on another 
occasion, you will meet a man who is farming simply 
because he has to do it, and who is over-anxious that 
his boy be guided in the direction of something else. 
The point especially to be emphasized here is that 
the parent cannot choose arbitrarily a vocation for 
his child. The native interests of the latter must be 
consulted again and again, while the child is growing 
up, and in the end the young person must decide the 
matter for himself. 

The world is full of wrecks of human character 
who are such largely because of the single fault of their 
never having been trained scientifically in a vocational 
way. So advance as best you can the idea that 
parents must be most patient in awaiting the devel- 
opment of the various instincts and desires in their 
growing children, and for the final decision of the 
latter in respect to a calling. It should be made 
clear that many of the best and ablest men in the 
world floundered about not a little in deciding upon 
the final choice. 

This very important matter of choosing a vo- 
cation for the young man and the young woman 
will be taken up in Chapters XVIII and XIX of 
this book. 



164 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

Other local possibilities 

It will be understood that the possibilities of church 
and Sunday school work in a rural neighborhood are 
not intentionally slighted. Little is said in regard 
to them here simply because of the fact that there 
is a country-wide organization with well-directed local 
branches and with a flood of excellent literature 
constantly at work in building up the church and 
Sunday school life. The reader may be reminded, 
however, that this field still presents many excellent 
opportunities for serving the highest interests of 
the home community. 

The matter of purely social gatherings for the 
boys and girls is important. It will perhaps be 
found that they are running to cheap, degrading 
dances, either in the home neighborhood or in a 
near-by town. If the rural leader can break this 
thing up and substitute a literary club, a better form 
of social intercourse, or any other gathering, for the 
cheap dance and its resultant debauch, the effort will 
certainly be most commendable. It is not as a rule 
advisable to condemn and denounce these cheap 
affairs, but rather to begin at once a movement in 
the interest of the better substitute. Just as soon as 
the latter begins to take form, the young people will 
naturally discontinue their degrading affairs. Chap- 
ter XIII of this book will offer a more extended 
discussion of the social problems of country youth. 



Plate XX. 




Fig. 26. — An example of the little lonely school in the woods, a problem of the 
social worker. Not enough children to stimulate one another properly in 
the lesson-getting and play activities. 



Organizing the Boy Scouts 165 

The boy-scout movement 

There is much to commend the boy-scout move- 
ment as a country organization. It must be thought 
of as an educative institution. In discussing its 
best meanings and possibilities, Professor E. L. 
Holton, of the Kansas State Agricultural College, 
says: "Education as used here means habits of 
health, of work, of thrift, of observation, and of re- 
search. It is habit that determines the health of 
an individual and the sanitary conditions of a 
community; the social and moral level of the 
worker and the quality of his work; the returns 
from the farm and the ideals of the farmer ; a man's 
bank account and his insight into the secrets of his 
environment. Habit has its physical basis in the 
flesh, the blood, and the nerve cells. There must 
be actual first-hand experience and leadership 
hitched up with text-book knowledge in educating 
the boy. The old elemental instincts of adventure, 
pugnacity, gang life, and following leadership must 
be taken into account and made to work out into 
life-compelling desires." 

Before attempting the organization of the local 
Boy Scouts, one is advised first to send to the national 
organization and that of the state, if there be any, for 
literature and directions. The only caution which 
it seems necessary to give here is that there be con- 
nected with the conduct of the organization some 



166 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

serious problems and requirements and that it be 
not given over exclusively to merely doing wild and 
daring "stunts" and "hiking" about the country. 

Rural boy-scouts in Kansas 

As an example of what is being done by way of 
organizing the rural boy scout movement, the 
Kansas plan under the direction of Professor E. L. 
Holton is here given : — 

The Agricultural College Council is organizing 
companies of Rural-Life Boy Scouts in all parts of 
Kansas. The aim of the Council is "a company 
in every community." There are 160,000 boys 
in Kansas eligible to membership. It seeks to en- 
courage boys to learn the secrets of the prairies, 
the streams and the forests, and be able to read 
nature as well as books ; to have a growing bank 
account, and to do some type of work better than it 
has been done by anyone else. 

During the month of July or August there is to 
be a five to ten days' Rural-Life Camp of Instruction 
in each county, which is to be attended by all com- 
panies of the county. This camp of instruction will 
be under the direction and management of the 
County Council. The program will consist of : — 

1. Games and athletic contests. 

'2. Contest in judging farm crops and stock. 

3. Naming birds, wild animals, fish, flowers, trees, 
shrubs, etc. 



Duties of the Boy Scouts 167 

4. Reporting on the savings bank accounts. 

5. Contests in any other line of work carried on 
in the county. 

6. Talks on rural life subjects. 

The duties of the individual scout are as follows : — 
For the Third Class — 

1. Know by sight and call ten common birds. 

2. Know by sight and track ten wild animals. 

3. Know by sight five common game fish. 

4. Know in the fields ten wild flowers. 

5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline ten 
common trees or shrubs. 

6. Know the sixteen points of the compass. 

7. Know the elementary rules for the prevention 
of typhoid fever. 

8. Plant and cultivate according to the latest 
scientific methods not less than one-half acre of some 
farm or garden crop. (The town boy may substi- 
tute a town lot.) 

9. Own and care for according to the latest 
scientific methods some type of pure bred domestic 
animal. (This includes poultry.) Value not less 
than $10. 

10. Maintain a bank account of not less than $15. 

11. Shall strive to graduate from the common 
schools. 

For the Second Class — 

1. Know by sight and call twenty common birds. 

2. Know by sight and track twenty wild animals. 



168 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

3. Know by sight seven common game fish. 

4. Know in the fields twenty wild flowers. 

5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline 
twenty common trees and shrubs. 

6. Know the elementary rules for the prevention 
of tuberculosis. 

7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest 
scientific methods not less than one acre of some farm 
or garden crop. (The town boy may substitute 
town lots.) 

8. Own and care for according to the latest 
scientific methods some type of pure bred domestic 
animal. (This includes poultry.) Value not less 
than $20. 

9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $20. 

10. Read the books of the Young People's Reading 
Circle for the eighth and ninth grades. 

For the First Class — 

1. Know by sight and call fifty common birds of 
Kansas. 

2. Know by sight and track all wild animals of 
Kansas. 

3. Know by sight all the common game fish of 
Kansas. 

4. Know in the fields twenty-five wild flowers. 

5. Know by leaf, bark, and general outline all 
common trees and shrubs of Kansas. 

6. Know by sight twenty-five common weeds. 

7. Plant and cultivate according to the latest 



Further Duties of the Scouts 169 

scientific methods not less than two acres of farm 
crops. (The town boy may substitute town lots.) 

8. Own and care for according to the latest 
scientific methods some type of pure bred domestic 
animal. (This includes poultry.) Value not less 
than $25. 

9. Maintain a bank account of not less than $25. 

10. Shall read at least two of a list of books on 
rural life. 

The motto is: "Know the secrets of the open 
country." 

REFERENCES 

See Rural Leadership Number of Rural Manhood, June, 1910. 

Play for the Country Boy. Clark W. Hetherington. Rural Manhood, 
May, 1911. 

The Y.M.C.A. Socializing the Country. Farman S. Vance. The Inde- 
pendent, April 15, 1911. 

Holiday Plays. Marguerite Merington. Duffield & Co. Suitable for 
rural leaders. 

The County and Local Fair. L. H. Bailey. The Country-Life Movement, 
1911. This article contains many practical and stimulating sug- 
gestions for making a successful county fair, on a new basis. 

Farmers' Institutes for Young People. Circular No. 99 of the U. S. 
Department of Agriculture. (Free.) This circular gives a large 
fund of details of all sorts of clubs and movements. 

Kindergarten at Home. V. M. Hillyer. Baker-Taylor Company, N Y. 
Contains much constructive work. 

The Young Farmer's Practical Library. Edited by Ernest Ingersoll and 
published by Sturgis -Walton Company, N.Y. (75 cents each.) 
Contains some excellent matter. The following volumes are in- 
cluded : 

From Kitchen to Garret. Virginia T. Van de Water. 
Neighborhood Entertainments. Renee B. Stern. 



170 Farmer and his Wife as Leaders of the Young 

The Farm Mechanic. L. W. Chase. 
Home Waterworks. Carleton J. Lynde. 
The Satisfaction of Country Life. Dr. James W. Robertson. 
Roads, Paths and Bridges. L. W. Page. 
Health on the Farm. Dr. L. F. Harris. 
Farm Machinery. J. B. Davidson. 
Electricity on the Farm. 
County Superintendent J. F. Haines, Noblesville, Indiana, has a fund of 

helpful data on agricultural fairs by young people. 
The Extension of Industrial and Agricultural Education. (Pamphlet.) 
Extension Department, University of Wisconsin, Madison. ' m '> 

Children's Singing Games Old and New. Mari Ruef Hofer. A. Flana- 
gan Company. Chicago. Miss Hofer is an authority of national 
reputation on the subject of play and games. 



CHAPTER XI 

HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY BOY 

Over-work, poor pay, and little recreation are the 
agencies which annually drive thousands of good, 
promising youths from the rural districts into the 
cities, where their splendid native abilities for serving 
the world and society are most likely to become 
subordinated. All too often it is a case of a young 
man leaving the home place, surrounded by op- 
portunities which he has not been allowed to avail 
himself of, and going into a place where he will take 
up the monotonous round of merely "holding a job." 
In the former position, under intelligent care and 
direction, he might have grown into a strong, self- 
reliant man, full of resources, endued with good 
purposes ; and at last have taken rank among those 
who are lifting the race to higher things. In the 
position obtained in the city he is almost certain to 
find his surroundings badly cramped, his spontaneity 
largely restricted, and his power of initiative without 
a motive for its indulgence. In short, his city 
position will press him continually and insistently to 
the end that he reduce himself to a mere machine, 
or a mere cog in a great machine. 

171 



172 How Much Work for the Country Boy 

See that the work is for the boy's sake 

One of the means whereby rural parents may assist 
their boy to develop into that fullness of life which 
the latter's native abilities and excellent environ- 
ment guarantee him, is to provide a scientific relation 
of the young life to the work which he may be re- 
quired to perform. First of all, what is the proper 
way in which to regard the boy's work ? Ordinarily, 
the farmer is inclined to think of the work rather 
than the worker, and to ask himself what he can 
put the boy at in order to make his services most 
profitable to the business. Now, no evil intention is 
charged here, but this erroneous point of view is 
almost certain to lead gradually to an abuse of the 
boy. Why not put the question in this way : How 
much work and what sort of work will be most 
conducive to the boy's present development and to 
his future welfare ? The radical difference between 
the two positions may be readily seen. And while 
the latter may be less profitable in form of material 
and monetary gain, it will prove to be far more 
serviceable in the production of sterling manhood. 

It is not an easy matter to determine offhand as 
to the amount of work a boy of any given age should 
perform. Conditions vary greatly. The safest mode 
of procedure is to study the individual boy carefully. 
Let the parent first acquaint himself with the gen- 
eral principles of human development through the 



Boys not Fond of Work 173 

service of suitable literature, as recommended in a 
former chapter. Then, the boy's physical strength, 
his aptitudes, and his native interests should be 
taken into account. Among other aims, seek that 
of a happy adjustment of the boy to his work. Some 
of the tasks required of him will be and should be 
somewhat irksome, as a means of discipline. On 
the other hand, much of the work he does should be 
backed up by his hearty approval and good will. 

It is probably true that no boy is instinctively 
fond of work and that the average boy must be held 
to his tasks whether he chooses to perform them or 
not. But the final pleasant relations of the boy to 
his work can best be secured by means of counseling 
with him on the subject. Explain to the lad the fact 
that industry is the greatest factor in the world's 
progress and development. Point out to him 
instances of worthy men, young and old, who are 
faithful workers. Make him to see that he can the 
better become an honorable man through an intimate 
knowledge of labor. Point out to him instances of 
men who are failures in life, and others who are 
criminals, explaining — as statistics prove — that 
the majority of these delinquent persons were never 
trained during youth in the performance of any 
specific work. Show him if possible how even 
the wealthy person who has nothing important 
to do, is a burden to himself and a menace to 
society. 



174 How Much Work for the Country Boy 

Not enforced labor, but mastery 

As stated above, no natural boy probably takes 
up hard work willingly or voluntarily. Parents 
may as well accept it as their peculiar duty to direct 
and discipline their boys with required tasks. But 
after considerable persistent and conscientious en- 
forcement of the boy's labors the parent is almost 
certain to be rewarded with the latter's manifest 
willingness and fondness in doing what was at first 
thought of as pain and punishment. 

It is a serious matter, however, to observe how 
many grown men there are who look upon their work 
with the dread and disfavor natural to little boys. 
One is inclined to wonder at this and at the cause of 
it. So far as can be learned by inquiry among 
workmen and those who dread their enforced labor, 
their view of the situations is about as follows, to 
render liberally the language of a stonemason-philos- 
opher : "Work is something no man is naturally fond 
of. Every worker would quit if he could afford 
to and take life easy. If I had ten thousand dollars 
ahead, I would never work another day. Of course 
somebody has to work or we should all starve, but my 
advice to a boy is that he get a good education and 
thus learn how to make a living some other way." 

Here the parent who has true foresight in respect 
to his child's development is confronted with a serious 
problem. It is not merely a matter of teaching the 



How One Boy was Trained 175 

boy to work, but rather that of teaching him to 
become master of his work in order that personal 
pleasure may finally come from the performance 
thereof. So, one must follow the boy most thought- 
fully in the latter's initial steps toward satisfactory 
industry. While it is sometimes advisable to take 
him forcibly back to the place where he failed and 
even to enforce obedience and effort with the rod, 
it is most certainly the parent's duty to praise the 
small lad for his first light tasks well performed, and 
otherwise to show appreciation thereof. 

"It took me a year to get this boy down to busi- 
ness," said the proud father of a fifteen-year-old 
who had just won a second prize in a state-wide 
corn-raising contest. "During the summer of his 
sixth year I took him with me into the field on 
occasions when he could do something light and learn 
from it. But my chief plan was to train him in 
garden work. I gave him a small plot to tend and 
helped him lay it out and plant it. At first he showed 
great interest, but I knew that it was of the playful 
kind and that it would soon wane. Sure enough, 
in a short time he was dodging and slighting his 
garden work. Then, I began a more definite method. 
At morning I would instruct him very carefully what 
he must do for the day, and at each evening I required 
him to compare results and instructions with me. 
Punishment was necessary more than once, but 
slowly he began to catch my point of view." 



176 How Much Work for the Country Boy 

"I bought the boy's first spring radishes for table 
use and permitted him to spend half the money. 
This seemed to open his eyes. Later I paid him for 
his other produce. During the second season I 
emphasized such matters as carefulness in selecting 
seed and the arrangement and cultivation of the 
garden produce. Several of the neighbors expressed 
surprise and delight when they saw the attractive 
garden. This merited approbation was noticeably 
effective. Since that time I have had little trouble. 
I can give that boy any ordinary farm problem to- 
day and he will work it out most enthusiastically. 
He has learned the joy of mastery in his work." 

The foregoing somewhat lengthy statement is 
given with the thought that it may furnish illustrative 
material to others. It is a mistake to keep driving 
boys to their work "just because they ought to do 
it," as one stern father put the matter. But it is 
altogether fair and advisable that a series of rewards 
be offered. The youth must be made to feel that 
his work is to serve some worthy personal end. 
This well-trained boy's reward came gradually as 
follows : (1) parental approbation, (2) a money 
return, (3) the praise of the neighbors, (4) the 
joy of self-reliance and mastery. 

Provide vacations for the boy 

It is unreasonable to expect the growing boy to 
have the same vital interest in the work as that of 



How One Farmer Manages 177 

his parents. The wise father will see to it that his 
youthful son has some outside incentive for work, 
as well as money payments and words of praise. 
Vacation periods and holidays judiciously placed 
will prove a splendid tonic for the working boy's 
mind. The schedule given below will indicate the 
relative amount of time that should be given to such 
recreative indulgences. Even in the matter of 
holidays there is a tendency of some fathers to re- 
gard them as so much stock in trade to exchange 
for the boy's extra effort. So, some farmers will 
map out more than a reasonable week's work and 
say, "Now, boys, finish that up by Saturday noon 
and you may quit." In such case we have mere 
exploitation of the boy's strength and energy in 
the interest of the work and the profits. The scheme 
will fall flat sooner or later and leave the boy still 
despising the work and mistrustful of his employer. 

The plan pursued by a prosperous farmer in dealing 
with his two sons may serve to illustrate a very 
good method. This thoughtful father reports sub- 
stantially as follows : — 

' The work on our place is never ended, but when- 
ever I find that the boys need a vacation they get it 
just the same. They are fourteen and sixteen and 
splendid help during the summer. I never permit 
them to work more than ten hours a day, while they 
are allowed a full half day off each week to use as they 
please, and about once each month they have an 



n 



178 How Much Work for the Country Boy 

entire day to themselves. Also during the hot 
weather in the middle of the summer they have 
from three days to a week for some special outing. 
Last summer they camped out five days with some 
other good boys. It is my theory that the boys who 
are given such vacations will do more work and do it 
better than those who are not." 

The foregoing plan may seem to sacrifice the inter- 
ests of the work, but in fact it really does not. After 
all, it is merely a question of the right point of view. 
Is the boy for the sake of the work, or the work for 
the sake of the boy ? Answer the question con- 
scientiously for yourself, dear reader. And may the 
boy be forever the gainer ! 



A TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF HOURS 

Obedience may be regarded as a pre-requisite 
for successful boy training. So, the first light 
tasks required of the small lad will be intended as 
merely a means of training him to obey and to feel 
the meaning of responsibility. No one has thus 
far seemed to think it worth while to attempt 
to prescribe for the work and play of children. How 
different in the case of the school requirements ! 
Even in the district schools the thing is reduced 
to a system — both the quantity and the quality of 
the work necessary for each age and grade are care- 
fully scheduled. Now, why not the same forethought 
in planning the necessary amount of the other 



Ideal Work Schedules 179 

exercises ? And why not have this scheme made 
out by highly trained experts as is the case with the 
school course ? There seems to be no plausible 
defense for this traditional expensive oversight on 
the part of society. 

The schedule below is offered as merely schematic 
and possibly suggestive. In any given case there 
may be wide departures from it. But the thought is 
that of training the whole boy, and that for the sake 
of his own and society's future good. 

Age 4 or younger. — May be taught the nature of 
a required duty from being sent on an occasional 
small errand about the place. Practically all the 
time should be given to play. 

Age 5. — Use substantially the same methods as 
for age 4, but add the requirement of one regular 
light task daily and follow him up in the performance 
of it. 

Age 6. — Continue as above, adding to the required 
tasks slightly. If the lad now be taken to the field, 
he must go more in the spirit of play than of work. 
Of course he will learn much about farm matters 
at this age, but his activities will be largely spon- 
taneous. Note the plan reported above. 

Age 7. — At this age, the boy should be required to 
do light chores at evening after school — such as 
carrying in wood and kindling and attending to the 
stock. Or he may help in the house. During 
vacation he may help for two to four hours daily 



180 How Much Work for the Country Boy 

with some easy tasks, preferably about the house. 
Of course there is much work about the barn and 
fields which is not too heavy for him. 

Age 8. — Some boys are put to plowing at this age, 
but such a thing is little short of criminal. More- 
over, they should be held regularly to no sort of work 
all day long at this age ; that is, unless the parent 
desires to reduce his boy to a little old dried-up man 
before the age of twenty is reached, and perhaps 
drive him from home. 

Age 9. — Intermittently half-day or all-day tasks 
may now be imposed ; provided the lad be taken 
along as a mere helper and may, about two-thirds 
of the time, either play at his work or regard it in the 
light of a playful pastime. Do not work the joyous- 
ness and spontaneity out of him at this young age. 

Age 10. — An average of five hours solid work per 
day is all that the 10-year-old farm boy should be 
required to do. Much play and recreation of the 
rougher sort should supplement it. The desire to 
construct something with tools is now strong and 
should be indulged. Or, see that he has a pony to 
ride as he hurries about the place in the performance 
of his many errands. 

Age 11. — Increase the required tasks about one 
hour per day with similar treatment as for age 10. 
This is the age for training the boy to be a sort of 
"page" in service of his mother and sister. 

Age 12. — Many 12-year-old boys are required to 



Plate XXI. 




Fig. 27. — A tennis court in connection with the country boys' camp. 
There should be more of these. 




Fig. 28. — A country play festival. We cannot answer rightly the 
question. How much work for the country boy ? and at the same 
time neglect to provide for his play. 



Work for Older Boys 181 

do a man's work every day. But such a thing is 
done in the interest of the work and the profits and 
not for the sake of the boy. A good way to measure 
his worth at this age is to see that he does not earn 
more than half as much as the full-grown man. 
Give many half-holidays. His interest in fishing, 
rowing, swimming, and the like, needs much indul- 
gence. 

Age 13. — From this age to 15, watch the boy 
for the beginning of adolescence and be unusually 
careful not to over-work him. Most of his bodily 
strength must go into making new bone and muscle. 
Frequent intervals of rest and relaxation should 
be the rule, together with avoidance of too long 
and too heavy a day's work. Even permit some 
crops to be lost rather than abuse the boy. 

Age 14-16. — This is the time to begin to interest 
the boy in working to serve his own ends. His 
social instincts will now appear strong and he will 
desire many new possessions not hitherto thought of. 
Therefore, adjust his work to these new interests 
and lead him to feel as much as possible that he is 
working for his own advantage. There is still danger 
of over- work. So see to it that rests and vacations 
with opportunities for social experience are frequent. 
It is a matter for parental concern if the farm boy 
be not able to return to his labors at the beginning 
of each new day with freshness of spirits and over- 
flowing energy. 



182 How Much Work for the Country Boy 

Think out a reasonable plan 

Finally, the farmer is urged to take up the matter 
for consideration early and make out what seems a 
reasonable plan of relating the boy to his work, and 
then to adhere persistently thereto. It has been 
charged repeatedly that the typical well-to-do 
farmer works his wife and children hard all day and 
until late bed time in the evening ; that heavy chores 
are piled upon the boys after they have already 
worked overtime in the field; that they are routed 
out at four o'clock every morning, when they go 
half asleep and moaning to their work again. 

If the foregoing accusation be at all true, its truth 
must certainly be the result of carelessness and igno- 
rance of human rights, and not premeditative in- 
humanity and criminality as it seems to be ! The 
reading of good farm literature, together with 
some intensive study of books and periodicals on 
the care and management of children — these will 
most certainly prove corrective agencies of some 
of the abuses named herein. 



REFERENCES 

Standards in Education. Arthur H. Chamberlain. Chapter III, 
" Industrial Training : Its Aim and Scope." American Book Com- 
pany. 

Child Labor and the Republic. Homer Folks. National Child Labor 
Committee, N.Y. 



References 183 

Teaching the Boy to Work. (Pamphlet.) Wm, A. McKeever. Pub- 
lished by the author, Manhattan, Kansas. 

Half Time at School and Half Time at Work. F. P. Stockbridge. 
World's Work, April, 1911. An interesting experiment at the Uni- 
versity of Cincinnati. 

Care of the Child. Mrs. Burton Chance. Chapter X, "The Awkward 
Age." Penn Publishing Company. 



CHAPTER XII 

HOW MUCH WORK FOR THE COUNTRY GIRL 

Imagine a wedding scene in a rural home. The 
only daughter, a young woman of ideal age for 
marriage, is joining her heart and her hand, for 
weal or for woe, to those of a young man of suitable 
character. But strange and unexpected as it may 
seem, there are many tears on the part of the imme- 
diate relatives of the girl. Her parents are mani- 
festing the strange emotion of solemnity at a time 
when gaiety might be expected. Why is it ? you 
ask. The whole situation has an interesting and 
inspiring history. It is simply this : During all 
her years the parents of this girl have watched her 
grow up, through infancy, childhood, maidenhood, 
and finally into the full maturity of a woman ; and 
every stage of her growth has been carefully safe- 
guarded by them. They have made the home life 
and the home work serve her needs and purposes in a 
most beautiful and instructive manner. They seem 
to have attempted at all times to put into their 
daughter's life just such experience as would become 
a helpful part of her growing character. And what 
a reward ! What a splendid satisfaction to the 
worthy parents to be able to contribute to society 
such a product of their affectionate care and training ! 

184 



Unconscious Error of Parents 185 

A BALANCED LIFE FOR THE GIRL 

Should we follow it out, the biography of the 
good young woman mentioned above would teach 
many a valuable lesson to the parents of other girls — 
would teach them that a growing girl has her specific 
needs and her inherent rights, which must be provided 
for by her parents through the proper kind of direct- 
ing and caretaking. A certain amount of restraint, 
of work, of play, of recreation, of social experiences, 
of practice in self-dependence, of opportunity for 
service of others — yes, a certain amount of all these 
things must be conscientiously supplied for the life 
of the growing girl so that she may develop into a 
well-rounded character. 

Parents are not accused of intentional wrong to 
their daughters. Such cases are rare. The chief 
sins against the daughters of the rural homes are 
the sins of neglect, of indifference, and of ignorance as 
to what were necessary to be done. So what we 
may accomplish in this chapter is, first to arouse 
parents to an appreciation of the seriousness of the 
problem before them ; and second, to offer some 
specific aids to the better achievement of the task of 
bringing up a girl to the rural home. 

It is a well-established principle in plant propa- 
gation that certain nutrient elements must be present 
in the soil before growth will go on properly. It 
does not satisfy the needs of the plant for some of 



186 How Much Work for the Country Girl 

the chemical substances to be present in large amount 
if the others be absent. There must be a sort of 
balanced ration for the vegetable life. Similarly 
in case of that tender plant of the household, the 
young girl; she can be kept alive on work and 
study alone, but for beautiful and symmetrical 
growth other elements of character-nourishment are 
necessary. What are they ? The reader is referred 
to Chapter I for a general list. 

The hurry of work and the isolation of the ordinary 
country home tend to foster an over-serious disposi- 
tion in girls. There is too little to provoke a smile 
and not half enough practice in smiling. Laughter is 
also too infrequent. A boy may grow up habitually 
stern and sedate and yet be able to fight his way 
through a successful manhood. But with the girl 
it is different. Her habit of smiling and of be- 
ing pleasant and agreeable may prove to be one of 
her most valuable charms. So, the early and con- 
tinuous training of the girl in sociability must be 
considered among the parental duties to her; and 
that by encouraging her to be sociable at home and 
by providing that she have frequent companion- 
ship with others of her age. 

Work begins with obedience 

One of the initial steps in the training of a child 
is that of securing a willing obedience, a habitual 
performance of required tasks and duties. It may 



Girls to be Trained to Work 187 

prove an easy matter to drive the girl to the work. 
But how about the problem of teaching her to take 
up her daily tasks willingly and with a joyous heart ? 
Girls are little different from boys at this stage of 
their education. They do not take naturally and 
fondly to work. They will slight and neglect it. 
Worse than that, if untrained in faithfulness to 
household duties, they will lounge about the place or 
run much in society and allow their mothers to 
work themselves slowly to death — and scarcely seem 
to realize what is taking place. 

Similarly as in case of the boy, some forcing, some 
rebuke, and occasional punishment will be necessary 
to initiate the girl into the work habit. But shortly 
obedience and willingness will come, and with them 
a deeper consciousness than is manifested in her 
young brother. After that, the danger of over- work 
will soon begin to be apparent to the watchful 
mother, and be guarded against. 

Habit formation is a prominent factor in the first 
lessons of obedience in work. It will be highly 
advisable to start everything right. After a few 
instances of slighting one kind of work or expending 
too much energy upon another kind the young 
character begins to take on these faults permanently. 
Many women scrub floors and wash dishes unto 
their death. Others perform these endless tasks 
quite as well "in a jiffy" and go on their way singing. 
Why is this ? Is it not a matter which the mother 



188 How Much Work for the Country Girl 

should think about most seriously in relation to the 
training of her daughter ? 

Working the girls in the field 

Is there any justification for requiring a girl to 
work in the field with the men and boys ? Many 
girls are doing so, whether required or not. Careful 
consideration of the matter seems to bring out a few 
suggestions. The farm girl while a child under ten 
years may accompany the father or the brothers into 
the field and there be permitted to do some light 
work occasionally, provided she regard it in a 
semi-playful way. On very rare occasions, when 
older, she may be rightfully called on to drive a rake 
for a day or take some similar part of the work in 
order to help prevent the loss of a valuable crop. 

But the practice followed by some farmers, of often 
requiring their daughters to do a man's work in the 
field, and excusing the fault with the thought that 
it is for the sake of laying up wealth for her future 
enjoyment — that is abominable and should be 
prohibited by law. Among other objections, it is 
probably most hurtful to the young woman's pride 
and self-respect to be forced to perform farm labor. 
And then, during such time as she works in the 
field her much needed opportunities for the practice 
of the womanly arts and refinements are slipping 
away. 

Of course we should not take away from the 



Overworking the Daughter 189 

country-reared woman the poetic sentiment about the 
days of her childhood when she helped rake the hay 
and drive the cattle home, "just for fun." 

Some specific suggestions 

It is difficult, of course, to lay down specific 
rules here, because every case is a special one. But 
nearly all intelligent parents can easily determine 
whether or not they are fair to their girls. It would 
seem reasonable that in addition to the affection and 
interest properly bestowed upon her in the home, 
the daughter should have at least the same meas- 
ure of value — money value — put upon her work 
as is the rule with the hired helper. Certainly no 
worthy parent would ask her to work for a smaller 
sum. 

Too many of these good, promising girls are 
cramped and limited in their lives until the self-pride 
is crushed welKnigh out of them. Often such young 
women will be seen moping about in a stooped 
attitude of body, stiff and awkward in their manners, 
lacking in self-confidence and in that beautiful 
grace and ease of movement which mark the well- 
developed young woman of twenty years. All of 
this is more or less indicative of parental disregard 
and mistreatment — indicative that some one has 
cheated her out of the time that should have been 
allowed for rest and recreation and social improve- 
ment and given her in exchange an over-amount of 



190 How Much Work for the Country Girl 

grinding toil and enforced seclusion — all for the 
sake of the work and the profits. 

It is a singular fact that so many country mothers 
make no provision for throwing extra safeguards 
around their young daughter during the monthly 
period of physical drain and weakness. It could 
probably be shown that her lowered vitality and the 
increased susceptibility to fatigue at this time make 
almost complete rest and relaxation highly advisable. 
It is also most probable that the strain of work and 
the exposure to inclement weather, so often allowed 
during the monthly period, are the incipient causes 
of life-long weakness and disease. 

Do YOU OWN YOUR DAUGHTER? 

There are still not a few parents who are possessed 
of the old-fashioned idea that their children belong 
to them, that they have a proprietary right in 
their own sons and daughters. Just now there is 
thought of a father who is intelligent, in many 
ways above the average man, but who seems to 
regard his twenty-three-year-old daughter as a 
sort of chattel. Being a widower, he needs her 
services, so he would employ her at the least possible 
wages, or none, to take charge of the home, rear the 
two or three smaller children, and cook and keep 
house for himself and three or four hired men. The 
best excuse that may be offered for this man's 
attitude toward his daughter is sheer ignorance of 



Regard for the Girl's Future 191 

the true meaning of the situation. But such treat- 
ment of a mature daughter is little short of cruelty. 
This young woman should have every possible op- 
portunity just now to prepare herself for the future. 
Her conduct for the present may even have the 
appearance of being somewhat selfish in order that her 
future well-being and that of those dependent upon 
her may be safe-guarded. 

Further details of the foregoing case need not be 
given. The issue to be made out of it is this : The 
parent who is doing the fair and square thing by 
his daughter not only trains her to work and then 
safe-guards her life against an over-amount of work, 
but he also sees to it that the labor she performs is 
contributive to her enjoyment, to the strengthening 
of her character, and to the perfection of her life for 
the future. Parents are justified in using every 
possible means as contributory to the future well- 
being of their growing daughters, and all this for 
the sake of the generations yet unborn. Thus, 
perhaps without realizing the fact at all, the former 
may return to the race life that measure of assistance 
which they themselves received. 

Difficult to make a schedule 

It is difficult to make out a schedule of hours 
for the growing girl as we did for the boy, but the 
former chapter may be taken as a general guide. As 
with the boy, so with the girl, the first step in disci- 



192 How Much Work for the Country Girl 

pline is that of securing a willing obedience. Then 
the tasks may be assigned in accordance with the 
girl's age and strength. There is no good reason 
for attempting to get work out of the child through 
a make-believe policy of play. Children had better 
be made to understand from the first that the world 
we live in is constructed largely through work ; and 
that labor is honorable and may even be made 
pleasurable. 

"I should rather do the work myself than be 
bothered with trying to get the children to do it," is 
a very common expression, and one which indicates 
an erroneous idea of the problem we are considering. 
So long as parents put their children at the tasks 
merely for the sake of getting the tasks done, the 
children will suffer as a consequence. But if the 
thought of the child's need of the discipline coming 
from work be uppermost, then, the results are 
likely to be wholesome. 

Teach the girl self-supremacy 

One of the greatest problems of the future of the 
race is involved in the fact that many thousands of 
the best young women in the land — young women 
who are well fitted to be the mothers of a better 
race of human beings than we now have — are 
choosing an independent calling for themselves. It 
is the author's belief that one of the most tragic 
experiences known to any considerable portion of the 



Plate XXII. 




Dangers of Over -work 193 

American people is this gradual starvation of the 
maternal instinct usually necessary in the case of 
the well-sexed young woman of the class just men- 
tioned. 

And yet much of this fatal choice of an independent 
vocation on the part of many young women doubtless 
results from bad management of the growing girl. 
In too many country homes especially, the work 
is complete master of the housekeeper and not the 
converse, as the case should be. As a result, thou- 
sands of good women who ought to be in the pink 
and prime of life are going pathetically to the only 
rest which the conditions seem to allow — the grave. 
It is an awful thing, this wreck of so many good lives 
through over-work. Under such conditions, may 
we reasonably censure the many young women who 
foresee such a fate as a possibility for themselves 
and avoid it through choice of an unmarried life 
and independent support ? 

Girls are more readily enslaved to work than boys. 
It is comparatively easy to teach a young woman to 
work, but it is an extremely difficult matter to teach 
her when and how to quit work. Here, then, is 
the point whereat we would center the attention of 
the parents of the country girl. Make her mistress 
of her work. Develop in her by actual concrete 
lessons the ability to stop and rest or take recreation 
at the necessary time, even though the work be 
not half done. 



194 How Much Work for the Country Girl 

Summary 

1. Give the girl a trifling daily task at four or five 
years of age, merely for the sake of discipline. See 
to it, however, that her young life be occupied chiefly 
in play and enjoyment and outdoor recreation. 

2. Gradually increase the amount of work required, 
but always with an eye single to the girl's physical 
growth and character-development. Some definite 
thing to do as a regular daily requirement will prove 
most helpful. 

3. Continue throughout the daughter's growing 
years to provide for her pleasure. Her schooling, 
her personal belongings, her social advantages, and 
the like, must all be made to serve the purpose of 
making her life in the home a happy one. As she 
grows in strength and years, she will assume the 
increased amount of work with willingness and even 
with pleasure, provided the assigned duties be vi- 
tally related to her present purposes and her life 
interests. 

4. Moreover, country parents must learn to think 
of themselves as first of all engaged in bringing up 
their children for a better human society ; and sec- 
ondly, as engaged in farming and housekeeping. If 
this point of view be held to persistently, the crops 
may often suffer and the housework frequently re- 
main unfinished, but the vital interests of the 
boys and girls will continue ever to be served. 



A Final Summary 195 

5. Finally, let us continue to appreciate the value 
of outings and vacations as potent factors in reliev- 
ing the drudgery of work about the country household. 
Women's work in the country home naturally calls 
for much isolation and seclusion. The pre-adoles- 
cent girl should be taken out of the farm home once 
or twice per week during the summer vacation. 
It is good for her to go with her mother to the town 
market and to the women's club meetings. As soon 
as she enters young womanhood, a square deal for 
the girl who helps in the home will call for a weekly 
outing of some kind and a careful provision for her 
social needs. All of this outside intercourse will 
serve to quicken the body and the intellect of the 
girl as she goes daily about the household duties, 
and to give her 

" Thoughts that on easy pinions rise 
And hopes that soar aloft to the skies." 



REFERENCES 

The author has been able to find little printed matter of worth on the 
important problems outlined in this chapter. The industrial training 
of the country girl is a neglected subject. It seems to have been taken 
for granted that she needed none. 

Sex and Society. W. I. Thomas, pp. 149-175, "Sex and Primitive 
Industry." University of Chicago Press. Shows in outline the 
emancipation of women from the bondage of work. 
Growth and Education. John M. Tyler. Chapter XII, "Manual 
Training Needed for Girls." Houghton Mifflin Company. 



196 How Much Work for the Country Girl 

Mind and Work. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter II, "The Habit of Suc- 
cess" ; also Chapter XIII, "The Need of Adequate Work." Double- 
day, Page Company. 

Motive for Work. Margaret E. Schallenbeyer. Annual Report N.E.A. 
1907. 

Wallaces' Farmer. Des Moines, Iowa. Weekly. This periodical prints 
many articles, editorial and contributed, which discuss the subjects 
treated in the foregoing chapter. 

The Mother of the Living. Mrs. Catherine Barton. Published by the 
Author. Kansas City, Mo. 

The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Chapter VIII, "The Purpose of 
Life." Forbes & Co., Chicago. 

Life's Day. William L. Bainbridge, M.D. Chapter VIII, "The 
Irresponsible Age." Frederic A. Stokes Company, N.Y. 



CHAPTER XIII 

SOCIAL TRAINING FOR FARM BOYS AND 
GIRLS 

We have been exceedingly slow in realizing the 
social needs of our children, in the usual instance 
depending on chance conditions to determine the 
matter for us. The city and the rural communities 
present a striking contrast in this respect. It does 
not seem possible that both can be right, while there 
is much to support the opinion that both are wrong. 
That is to say, in the city community the majority 
of the children are allowed to spend too much time 
in the company of others. As a result, they take on 
social manners and customs in a mere formal way and 
by far too early for the good of their character-de- 
velopment. The city ripens young life too fast. 
It produces the manners and refinements of adult 
life before the child becomes matured mentally. In 
the ordinary rural community there is not enough 
social experience for the young; and hence, a cer- 
tain amount of crudeness, awkwardness, and lack of 
refinement tend to linger permanently in the charac- 
ter. 

A HAPPY MEAN IS NEEDED 

What seems necessary, therefore, is the establish- 
ment of a social life which will be a compromise 

197 



198 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

between the excess of the city and the deficit of the 
country. So far as can be learned, very little has 
been achieved in the matter of establishing just such a 
social order in the rural communities as will tend 
to develop the lives of the boys and girls in an ideal, 
symmetrical way. We may not feel very certain 
as to just how this ideal juvenile society should be 
constructed. Nevertheless, an attempt will be made 
to sketch in this chapter a working plan therefor. 
Some may see fit to adapt it, while others may im- 
prove it through practice. 

What especially needs to be thought of in the de- 
velopment of any normal young life is the problem 
of rounding out the character on all sides. There 
are certain fundamental character-forming experi- 
ences and disciplines, such as work, play, recreation, 
and social intercourse. Many parents seem to be 
possessed of the idea that they can develop their 
children through play and social training alone. 
Others seem to believe that hard work and plenty of 
it is all that is necessary for the development of a 
substantial character in the young. Still others 
appear to allow their boys and girls to roam at will 
and to indulge them only in the recreative experi- 
ences. But how indefensible the idea that anyone 
should try to find permanent joy and satisfaction 
through recreative experiences without first having 
had as their counterpart the experience of work and 
the responsibilities that pertain thereto ! 



Sex and Youthful Society 199 

So, again, it may be contended that there is a happy- 
mean between the over- work and the absence of social 
experience so common in the farming communities 
and the lack of work and the extreme social excite- 
ment that so often obtains in the life of the city child. 

A SOCIAL RENAISSANCE IN THE COUNTRY 

There is becoming more and more apparent the 
necessity of not only a revival of the social life in the 
country, but also the demand for its reconstruction. 
It is especially to be desired that the reorganization 
be effected under the guidance of sound principles of 
psychology and sociology. That is, it must be based 
on the fundamental fact of the sex instinct so promi- 
nent during the adolescent period, and the further 
fact of the imperative demand at this time for a large 
amount of social intercourse. How differently this 
point of view persistently held will shape the matter 
as compared with the older ideal of merely "giving 
the young folks a good time"! Yes, the social life 
of adolescent boys and girls has its source in the sex 
instinct then so predominant. It is not therefore 
to be viewed as a piece of superficial sentimentality, 
but rather as a profound law of nature. 

As suggested by two or three of the preceding 
chapters, there may be organized a social center in 
the church, or other such centers may develop inde- 
pendently through the leadership of some mature 
persons. But instances of this class of effective 



200 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

organization are as yet few and far between. Mean- 
while, the young are growing up and their present 
social needs are very pressing. Individual farmers 
cannot wait for neighborhood movements ; and so 
the parents of the children requiring the social life 
must themselves take the initiative in the matter. 

Conditions to guard against 

Before proceeding to a detailed outline of various 
plans for supplying the social needs of rural young 
people, it may be well to point out a few of the pitfalls 
to be guarded against. In reference to the latter, it 
is not the purpose to advise parents to try to place 
their children in an exclusive social set. Far from 
that. The purpose is rather the converse; namely, 
to urge parents to attempt to build up good, clean 
characters in their boys and girls and yet permit the 
latter to mingle freely with common humanity. An 
aristocracy in the towns and cities is bad enough and 
a thing wholly out of harmony with the best and high- 
est interpretation of our national life ; but an aris- 
tocracy in the country neighborhood is an abomina-^**- 
tion. 

But while the so-called best families must think 
of their young as growing members of the entire social 
community and not as belonging to an exclusive set, 
there is nevertheless great need of constant watchful- 
ness in respect to certain evils that always threaten 
the lives of farmers' sons and daughters. 



Safeguarding the Girls' Morals 201 

1. The social companionships of girls. — Of course 
it must be admitted that there is frequently present 
in the country neighborhood some vile or wicked 
young character whose influence is very pernicious. 
On one occasion this person may appear in the guise 
of an exemplary young man, smooth in manners, 
stylishly dressed, and apparently interested in the 
best affairs. But as a matter of fact, he may be 
secretly an agent for some infamous institution in the 
city. The records show that thousands of country 
girls have been enticed away to the cities by such 
characters only to meet an untimely and awful fate. 
The parents of the country girl should therefore know 
who the young man is with whom she keeps company. 
Usually it is a comparatively easy matter to test his 
worth. If he have no fixed local attachment in a 
home, and no permanent business relations in the 
community, he may be regarded with suspicion at 
least, and may be compelled to furnish evidence of his 
moral integrity. 

Another type of the young country man unworthy 
of the company and companionship of the young 
woman is the one who is known by the men of the 
community as being habituated to the use of vile 
and indecent language, or to the practice of drinking 
intoxicants. If such be among his known char- 
acteristics, the evidence is decidedly unfavorable, 
making him unsuitable as a social companion of the 
country girl. It is reasonable to predict that he will 



202 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

never change his ways very radically, and especially 
that he will not develop into a desirable life compan- 
ion for the daughter. Some good parents make the 
fatal blunder of allowing their girl to keep company 
with such a coarse-grained young man simply be- 
cause he is so "good hearted," and "means well," 
and the like. To say the least, a depraved social taste 
will gradually develop in the girl's life if she continue 
in such company. 

Another contamination for the country girl some- 
times results from the depraved young woman who 
has drifted into the neighborhood. The girl herself 
will be in the best position to detect such a type, as 
the latter will be marked by her coarse manners when 
in the presence of the girls, and by her practice of 
discussing obscene matters in private conversation 
with them. This is the situation in which the inno- 
cent young girl's mind may become forever poisoned 
and her wholesome faith in humanity entirely too 
much unsettled. 

2. Bad companionships for boys. Similar warnings 
as those given above need to be sounded with refer- 
ence to the young country boys, and others as well. 
Farm boys are necessarily much in the company of 
men of very common tastes and low ideals. They 
hear not a little evil conversation and profanity, as 
it is used by such men. As a result, there will be 
need of much constructive teaching at home. Ad- 
monitions, warnings, and advice will be necessary. 



Contracting Social Evils 203 

In every instance it is well for the parents to remind 
the boy of the great interest they have in his welfare, 
of how deeply he may grieve them by taking up any 
of the evil practices in question, and of the high ideal 
which they hold in mind for his future. 

Farm parents will need to keep up an intimate and 
frank exchange of ideas with their youthful son on 
the general subjects discussed in this chapter. They 
may ask him to repeat all he has heard and to relate 
all he has seen, good and bad, they then offering 
their corrections and admonitions. The especial 
danger is that the boy may acquire evil forms of 
speech, pernicious ideas for his secret thoughts, and a 
too low estimate of the worth of humanity. The 
vile companion is especially inclined to make the 
youth believe that there is no purity of character 
among girls and women — a most lamentable state 
of mind for a boy or a man of any age. 

The boy in the country is not only very much in 
danger of having his mind contaminated by the evil 
speech and the evil misinformation mentioned above, 
but there is always the possibility of his being enticed 
by some older and depraved companion into the 
company of evil women. Strange to say, there are a 
few men who seem to plan deliberately this form of 
downfall for innocent boys and to regard the success 
of their vile plot in the light of a mere joke. It is 
perhaps a fault of society that such men are per- 
mitted to run at large. And it is especially the fault 



204 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

of fathers if such men keep company with their boys. 
No matter how excellent the family history, how well- 
born the boy may be, and how carefully he has been 
admonished, there is always some danger of his 
yielding to an evil sex temptation — a situation which 
the parent should always be watchful about and ready 
to meet. 

3. Secret sex habits. — It is probable that country 
boys are more prone to secret perversions of their sex 
life than are city boys. The enforced solitude of the 
former and the increased opportunities for such secret 
evil may be accountable for the difference. In any 
event, there is necessity of constant watchfulness, 
and that especially until the son has reached com- 
parative maturity of the physical body. The danger 
is at its height at the beginning of the adolescent 
period, fourteen to sixteen years of age. But the 
preparation for meeting the possible sex perversion 
should be begun very early and consist in frank talks 
and admonitions. The small boy's questions about 
the origin of life must be answered frankly but only 
to the extent of imparting to him enough information 
to satisfy his present curiosity. Thus to satisfy 
his childish curiosity will prove a means of counter- 
acting the evil influences of the bad companionships 
referred to above. Then, the youth needs to be 
shown some instances of the ruinous effects of sex 
perversion in boys and men, together with the incul- 
cation of the idea that any such evil practice will cut 



The Evils of Smoking 205 

off the possibility of his realizing the high standards of 
moral character set for him. It is well also to remem- 
ber that prevention of the boy's misuse of his sex 
life is comparatively easy and that cure is extremely 
difficult. 

4. The so-called bad habits. — When we speak of 
the "bad habits" among boys and men we are in- 
clined to think of swearing, smoking, and the use of 
intoxicants. Without thought of defending the 
practice of profanity, we may say that it is often 
acquired in an innocent fashion and that it ordinarily 
implies no conscious or intentional evil. That is, it 
is usually not so bad in its actual analysis as it sounds 
to the listener. Moreover, it is a habit which many 
boys take up and afterwards discontinue when once 
they have set up for themselves high standards of 
manliness. 

With juvenile smoking the case is different. With- 
out the thought of offending the adult smoker or 
defending adult smoking, we may say with a high 
degree of certainty that the use of tobacco is ex- 
tremely hurtful to growing boys. It weakens and 
deranges the organic processes, leaves its deleterious 
effects in the throat, eyes, and lungs, and breaks down 
the natural constitutional defense so essential in 
time of such diseases as pneumonia and typhoid 
fever. On the mental side, tobacco lessens the boy's 
ability to study. Very wide investigations have 
shown that the habitual smokers among school boys 



206 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

rank low in scholarship ; that they are prone to fail 
in their classes and quit the schools ; that almost none 
of them take high rank as students. The moral 
effects are even worse. In times of temptation the 
young boy who smokes is more inclined to yield 
and to choose the worse form of conduct instead of 
the better. He lacks especially that fine sense of 
inner worth so necessary for the one who would 
succeed in arousing his own moral courage sufficiently 
to withstand the temptations that naturally beset 
young life. The rural parents will not of course 
despair about the boy or turn against him should 
they discover that he has secretly become confirmed 
in the use of tobacco. There are still possibilities of 
his development into a substantial character ; but 
because of his smoking the problem becomes a much 
more involved and difficult one. 

All that has just been said in reference to tobacco 
may be emphasized many fold in respect to intoxi- 
cants. To allow a growing boy to begin the use of 
intoxicating drink in any form seems to be wholly 
indefensible. However, if there are open saloons 
in the adjoining town or city, even the best country 
boys are always somewhat in danger of taking the 
first false step. Rural parents must not be satisfied 
with the thought that their boy is "too good" to 
take up such a thing ; they must be assured that he 
is not doing so. Now, the only way to obtain such 
assurance is by means of keeping in intimate touch 



A Center of Social Effort 207 

with the boy and his movements — by knowing when 
and where he goes, why he goes there, and whom he 
meets in the various places visited on his rounds. 
Thus, he may be saved from a life of debauch and 
degradation, and that by means of providing care- 
fully that he reach his full maturity of mind and 
body without any knowledge of the taste of intoxi- 
cating drinks. 

A CENTER OF COMMUNITY LIFE 

As explained in a number of preceding chapters, 
there are being carried out several plans for bringing 
about a social awakening in the farm districts. Some 
of these are succeeding admirably, especially the 
county Y.M.C.A., and in a few instances the rural 
church. But presumably there are many thousands 
of country districts wherein these helpful agencies 
will not be found for many years to come. So, in 
the following lines there will be an attempt to fur- 
nish detailed methods and suggestions to rural par- 
ents who are under the necessity of assisting their 
own children in a social way. The discussion thus 
far has been of a somewhat destructive order. Now, 
something of a constructive nature will be offered. 

The first essential in the awakening of a clean social 
life for the young is a center of effort. If there be 
no church or clubhouse of any kind within easy access 
of all, then the farm home may be made use of for 
this service. There are many advantages in the 



208 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

common country home as a social center for the 
young, among them being the probable presence of 
some sympathetic parent to offer guidance and to 
keep down unbecoming conduct. 

Invite the young to the house 

So, if country parents are really in earnest about 
doing something to develop their own children in a 
social way, let them throw open their own homes for 
the purpose. In a certain Iowa home this thing was 
done in an admirable manner. Let the father tell 
the story in his own language : — 

"For years we had a room in the house which we 
called the 'parlor.' It contained some expensive 
furniture which the members of the family scarcely 
ever saw, as the place was usually kept closed up and 
dark. Why we reserved such a dark, musty room 
for the 'special company' that came two or three 
times each year, I do not know. At any rate, we 
decided to make the place useful. In remodeling the 
house we enlarged it to 16 by 20 feet in size and 
added one very large window. 

"Here we made a society room for the young people 
of the neighborhood. Extra chairs were obtained, 
also a large new stove and fixtures for gaslights. 
There were also some simple wall decorations and 
a small library and reading table. That was two 
years ago. Since then our two boys and two girls 
have given many parties in that room and no one 



Plate XXIII. 




Conducting an Entertainment 209 

has got more enjoyment out of the affairs than their 
parents. We feel as if that room was the best in- 
vestment we ever made." 

Not nearly all anxious parents may be so situated 
as to follow the excellent plan described above, but 
it is certainly worthy of a trial by all who can avail 
themselves of its benefits. Best of all, the young 
people in whose behalf this thoughtful endeavor is 
put forth will most certainly grow to maturity con- 
firmed in the belief that the country life is not lack- 
ing in its social enjoyments. 

HOW TO CONDUCT A SOCIAL ENTERTAINMENT 

In giving a social entertainment to the young 
people of the country, there are a few simple yet 
common matters to be observed. First of all, there 
is the frequent tendency toward reticence or back- 
wardness. It will be remembered, of course, that the 
object of the occasion is not merely passing amuse- 
ment for the young, but also that of furnishing some 
means of character-development. In fact, the author 
wishes that every chapter of this book be thought of 
as contributing something toward the building up of 
young lives. So, in case of the home party, it will be 
necessary to see that every one present takes some 
active part. The bashful youth who is merely per- 
mitted to sit by and look on will go home secretly 
displeased, if not much pained, at his own backward- 
ness. He may even fail to appear again on such an 



210 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

occasion, and thus the availability of a most helpful 
agency be permanently lost to him. 

It is not therefore so much a question of the dig- 
nity and importance of the games played as it is a 
question of the active engagement of every one pres- 
ent in the amusements. Much will depend on lead- 
ership. An able leader will have the group organized 
before the several members realize what is being 
done. An expert student and director of young 
people was seen on a certain occasion to take charge 
of a party of forty boys and girls ranging in age from 
fifteen to twenty years. These were quickly placed 
standing in two parallel lines of twenty each. Each 
side was given a dish of unhulled peanuts and asked 
to engage in a contest of passing the nuts down the 
line one at a time, from hand to hand, the one at 
the farther end of the line placing the nuts in a 
receptacle. This simple game "broke the ice" for 
the entire evening. After that it was easy to keep 
the entertainment going. 

The supervisor of the social affair is advised to 
discourage all games that tend to an over-amount of 
silliness and that allow for undue familiarity of the 
sexes. There is, however, a dignified form of fun 
and merriment quite as enjoyable as the baser sort. 
And, too, the leader of the evening need not be re- 
minded of the many little opportunities for inculcat- 
ing wholesome lessons in dignified manners. Many 
a "green" and awkward country youth is started on 



The First Sense of Dignity 211 

the way to salvation through the courteous treat- 
ment he receives from some older and much respected 
person. Simply to treat him as if he were a dignified 
young gentleman amounts to inciting him to put 
forth his greatest effort to make a show of manli- 
ness. A close student of young nature will often 
observe that merely to address such a youth as 
"Mister" So-and-So causes him to straighten up 
and try to look the part. 

The hostess and guide at the rural party of young 
people will err not a little if she feels under the 
necessity of preparing a banquet or even a heavy 
luncheon for the occasion. Something as simple as a 
light drink and a wafer or two will be quite enough. 
The object of the refreshments is not merely to feed 
the young people to the point of stupefaction, but 
rather to give physical tone to support the vivacity 

of all. 

What about the country dance 

Unless the country dance can be radically reformed, 
it must be very strongly advised against. There is 
something about this occasion as usually conducted 
which seems to invite coarse characters and disrep- 
utable conduct. The country dance has so often 
been the scene of vice, drunkenness, and other such 
evils as to have received a permanent stigma of 
cheapness. The only seeming possibility of making a 
success of it is by the method of inviting a very 
exclusive set to attend, and this thing is so suggestive 



212 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

of aristocracy and snobbishness as to cause not a 
little ill feeling in the neighborhood. Under present 
conditions the country dance cannot be so managed 
as to make it contribute to the social and moral uplift 
of country young people. There are many better 
forms of entertainment which may be substituted 
for it. 

Along with the country dance should be rated the 
cheap professional entertainments that are so often 
given in the country school houses. Many of these 
are not only degrading but are morally evil in their 
suggestions, while they tend to give the young a 
depraved taste in respect to public shows and 
theaters. The school trustees may well exclude all 
such "shows" from the building. 

Additional forms of entertainment 

The farm parents most desirous of leading in the 
young people's entertainments, and best fitted to do 
so, may find it impracticable to invite the young into 
their home. In such case, there are several other 
ways whereby the desired ends may be achieved. 

1. The social hour at the religious services. — It 
is deemed quite advisable that those who plan the 
religious service in the country have thought of a 
social hour in connection therewith. The latter 
may prove fully as helpful in a constructive sense as 
the former, and it can in no wise detract from the 
value of the religious meeting. This combination 



Plate XXIV. 




The Literary Society Program 213 

of events is already being successfully tried in a 
number of places. For example, at the mid-week 
evening service, there is given first an hour to the 
prayer meeting or the discussion of the religious top- 
ics and the church work. After that, the scene is 
changed into one of clean, wholesome amusement 
with the special thought of giving the young people 
social entertainment and training. It has been 
found that this very method of uniting the religious 
and social service under a carefully planned program 
sometimes more than doubles the attendance. Of 
course the first essential for the success of such a 
meeting is that an able leader be in charge of it. 

2. A country literary society. — In times gone 
by the country literary society has played a mighty 
part indirectly in the building of the nation. Many 
a statesman or leader of the people has received his 
first aid and inspiration at the little old country 
"literary and debating society." There is no good 
reason why this same general form of society might 
not continue to do its effective work. However, in 
its best form, there will be some additions to the old 
procedure of merely debating the important public 
questions. The program makers may well have in 
mind the ideal of bringing out every form of talent 
latent among the young of the community. It is 
especially advisable that every young attendant be 
given an invitation to do the part of which he is most 
capable, and that he be urged to do it. It is quite 



214 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

possible to arrange a program upon which only the 
ablest and most capable young persons of the neigh- 
borhood may appear. But such would be a viola- 
tion of the best purpose of the society ; namely, not 
merely to provide a first-class entertainment, but an 
entertainment which shall bring out the greatest pos- 
sible variety of talent and awaken interest and enthu- 
siasm on the part of every member. 

Then, let the motto of the ideal country literary 
society be, "Something worth while for every mem- 
ber to do." The old-fashioned country society, like 
the older public school, was too narrow. It touched 
life and awakened interests in only a few places. The 
old school tested a boy in the three R's and geography. 
If he did well in these, he was "smart." If he failed 
in the traditional subjects, he was branded as a 
dullard and crowded out of the school, although in 
respect to some other untested activities he may have 
been a slumbering genius. So with the primitive 
"literary and debating society"; debating and 
"speaking pieces" were practically the only numbers 
on the program and usually only the ablest were 
allowed to appear. Ordinary talent in debating 
and reciting and all manner of promising talent in 
other lines was allowed to slumber on in the lives of 
many of the young people in attendance. Now, it 
is practically a certainty that every member of the 
young literary society can perform a part very ac- 
ceptably, provided the discerning leader know what 



Social Improvement not Neglected 215 

that part is. And best of all, the bringing out of such 
talent means the awakening of many other splendid 
interests among the youthful members of the com- 
munity, and finally the development of moral cour- 
age and other forms of manliness and womanliness. 

Now, to come to the point of a social result, the 
so-called literary entertainment can easily be made 
up in two parts, the literary and the social ; and there 
should be set apart an hour for the latter. 

3. The social side of the economic clubs. — In 
many instances, there will be organized boys' corn- 
raising or crop-improvement clubs, and with them 
country clubs of the girls interested in household 
economy. These club meetings may be made the 
occasion of not a little social improvement. The 
boys and girls may meet at the same hour and place, 
and after the business has been disposed of there 
may be a coming together in a social way. Such 
arrangement is highly advisable for two reasons. 
First, it will certainly increase the membership of 
the clubs ; and, second, the social instincts of the 
young people may be suitably indulged. 

Some concluding suggestions 

The leader interested in the foregoing plans may 
again be reminded of the necessity of instituting a 
social organization of such a nature as to touch all 
the young lives in the neighborhood. The rules 
and regulations governing the society should there- 



216 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

fore be drawn on broad and liberal lines, not forget- 
ting the great possibilities of awakening slumbering 
interests and aptitudes, and of building up a social 
community that will draw young people to it. 

If one will take the time to drive for a hundred 
miles in a direct line through the farm districts, as the 
author has done, he will be not a little surprised at the 
striking contrast in the social conditions of the various 
neighborhoods passed through. In one instance he 
will be told that there is absolutely nothing present 
to invite the young — a dull, dead place with per- 
haps many run-down farms and farm homes to keep 
it company. He will learn that the young people 
of such a community are running off to some neigh- 
boring town where many of them find a cheap and 
degrading class of entertainment. But the next 
adjoining neighborhood may present a converse sit- 
uation. One will be told that the young people 
are happy and contented there, that they have fre- 
quent meetings of their social clubs and other forms 
of organization; most probably the appearance of 
the neighborhood will be likewise much better than 
that of the other one mentioned. Attractive homes, 
well-kept roads and hedges, and other evidences of 
prosperity will meet one's view. 

In one district visited, the author found that this 
better situation had an interesting history and that 
it was nearly all traceable to a quarter of a century 
of public-spiritedness of one man. This resident had 



The Biggest Crop of All 217 

settled upon a quarter section of good land. While 
he was reconstructing his own home and its sur- 
roundings into a place of attractiveness, he was 
continually engaged in awakening the entire neigh- 
borhood in behalf of better things. He had led out 
in establishing a well-attended Sunday school in the 
district, had been instrumental in instituting regu- 
lar preaching service there twice each month, had 
led the entire neighborhood out on more than one 
occasion for a day's work in improving and beauti- 
fying the school grounds, had been the organizer and 
director of the country literary society, and of more 
than one club of farmers and their wives. During 
all this time he was correspondent for one or two 
county papers and used every occasion for advertis- 
ing the home community. All together, it was a 
most commendable and far-reaching service which 
this one man performed for his own neighborhood. 
So, it may be said that wherever there is one inspired 
leader in a country community, there is life. 

Finally, it may be urged that the biggest thing in 
the rural community is not the big crop of corn or 
wheat or the excellent breeds of live stock. Impor- 
tant as these things are, the great concern of the 
community should be the development of sterling 
character in the lives of the growing boys and girls 
and the cleanness and integrity of the personalities 
of every one within the neighborhood limits. To 
that end let this social center ideal be actualized, 



218 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 

becoming a place toward which the thoughts of all 
will go frequently and fondly during the hours of 
care and toil. Let it be made a place the thought of 
which will forever impart a full measure of good 
cheer, of contentment, and of honest courage to the 
mind of every member of the society thereabout. 
Let it be a place so ordered and arranged that things 
sacred and divine may reach down to the things 
often thought of as very commonplace and mean, 
and exalt the latter to their true and proper place. 
Lastly, let it be earnestly desired and planned for 
that every heart in the rural district shall be rekindled 
with a living fire of enthusiasm in behalf of the general 
improvement — of interest in the things that are 
high and divine, and of affection and good will toward 
all in the community. Let some local resident rise 
up as leader and bring this order of things to pass, and 
the social experiences of the young people will natu- 
rally become of such a nature as to develop them into 
men and women of great worth and efficiency. 

REFERENCES 

Wider Use of the School Plant. Clarence Arthur Perry. Chapter IX, 
"Social Centers." Charities Publication Committee, N.Y. 

Chapters on Rural Progress. Kenyon L. Butterfield. Chapter XIV, 
"The Social Side of the Farm Question." University of Chicago 
Press. 

Development and Education. M. V. O'Shea. Chapter XIV, "Prob- 
lems of Training." Houghton, Mifflin Company. 

Social Control. Edward A. Ross, Ph.D. Chapters VII and VIII, "The 
Need and Direction of Social Control." Macmillan. 



Reference List 219 

The Girl Wanted. Nixon Waterman. Forbes & Co., Chicago. A 

wholesome and cheering book for girls. 
Confidences. Edith B. F. Lowry, M.D. Forbes & Co. Plain, helpful 

talks regarding the sex life of girls. 
See the excellent editorial article, " Forces that Move Upward," Farmer s 

Voice, June 15, 1911. 
Causes of Delinquency Among Girls. Falconer. Annals American 

Academy. Vol. 36, p. 77. 
Democracy and Education. Dr. J. B. Storms. Annual Volume 

N.E.A., 1907, p. 62. 
The Efficient Life. Dr. L. H. Gulick. Chapter III, " Life That is Worth 

While." Doubleday, Page Company. 
The Ideals of a Country Boy. A. D. Hollawayin Rural Manhood, May, 

1910. 
Why Not Education on the Sex Question. Editorial article. Review 

of Revieios, January, 1910. 
Report of Vice Commission of Chicago. Chapter V, "Child Protection 

and Education." Guntorf- Warren Printing Co., Chicago. 
The Spirit of Democracy. Charles Fletcher Dole. Chapter XXIX, 

"The Education for a Democracy." Crowell & Co. 
The Education of the Boy of To-morrow. A. D. Dean. World's 

Work, April, 1911. Prize essay. 
College and the Rural Districts. W. N. Stearns. Education, April, 1911. 
The Boy Problem. Educational pamphlet No. 4. Society for Sanitary 

and Moral Prophylaxis, N.Y. 10 cents. Treats ably the question 

of social purity. 
Genesis. A Manual for Instruction of Children in Matters of Sex. B. S. 

Talmey, M.D. Practitioners' Publishing Company, N.Y. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE FARM BOY'S INTEREST IN THE 
BUSINESS 

The theory that the boys and girls who grow up in 
the country must in time become settled in farm 
homes of their own has neither logic nor psychology 
nor common sense to support it. It is never a ques- 
tion of whether or not a boy will take up the work of 
his father, but whether or not he will find at length 
the true and only calling for which his nature is best 
fitted. If the parents of the country boy will keep 
the latter question clearly in mind, many a problem 
in the latter's rearing will be made much easier. 

In order to break the monotony of the style of 
expression, much of this chapter will be addressed 
somewhat directly to the father of the country boy. 

What is in your boy ? 

If a man should come suddenly into possession of a 
piece of land having a productive soil, one of his first 
questions in regard to the soil would be, What will it 
best grow ? Farmers blundered and starved along 
for generations in an attempt to make a first-class 
farm produce the wrong crops, or to produce the right 
crop through the wrong manner of treatment ; and 

220 



Finding the Native Interest 221 

this simply because they used methods of tradition 
and guess rather than those of science. 

Now apply the foregoing situation to the boy prob- 
lem, if you will. So long as we attempt to secure 
from him the wrong results and deal with him by 
wrong methods, we are likely to conclude that there 
is "nothing in him." Therefore, in order to act 
intelligently and helpfully in the matter of giving the 
young son a business relation to farm life, it is first 
necessary to determine, as far as may be possible, 
the bent of his mind, remembering that the great 
artist, the great writer, or the great captain of indus- 
try is just as likely to be born in the country home as 
elsewhere. In fact, we shall learn in time, much to 
our advantage, that there must be a careful sifting 
process which will result in sending some of the 
country-bred young men directly to their important 
places in the city, and some of the city-bred youths 
to the rural industries. 

Much experimentation necessary 

The one who undertakes to develop a boy's inter- 
est in business affairs has really before him a problem 
in experimental psychology. Many of the youth's 
best aptitudes are necessarily still slumbering and 
unknown to either himself or others. The funda- 
mental steps preparatory for a successful com- 
mercial venture on the part of a young man are com- 
paratively few but none of them can safely be 
omitted. They are as follows : — 



222 The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business 

1. Willingness to work. — In this connection, per- 
haps something will be recalled from Chapter IX. 
We may at least be reminded of the difference in the 
attitude of mind of the boy who regards labor as a 
painful necessity and the one who enjoys a willing- 
ness to work. So long as the youth feels as if he 
were driven to his tasks there is little hope of arous- 
ing his interest in the business side of it. His mind 
will continue too much on the problem of avoiding 
work and on ways and means by which to get some- 
thing for nothing. 

There is probably a period of dishonesty in the life 
of every normal youth. Following the dawn of 
adolescence there is a great wave of new interest and 
new meaning coming to him out of the business and 
social world. The world is so full of interesting 
enticements. Everything looks to be good and 
within easy reach. He is especially prone to accept 
material things at their advertised value. He spends 
his dimes for prize boxes thought to contain gold rings 
and other such finery. His quarters and half dollars 
frequently go in payment for the "valuable" things 
offered "free for the price of the transportation," 
the purpose of this tempting gift being "simply for 
the sake of introducing the goods." 

But it is well to see the boy safe through this period 
of allurement. So long as the world seems to hold 
out so many highly valued things which may be had 
for a trifle the youth will see little need of his work- 



Some Beginnings of Business 223 

ing to obtain them. So, attend him in his efforts 
to get something for nothing. Permit him to be 
stung a few times and thus teach him how and where 
to look for the sting. Finally, impress him with the 
thought that every material thing worth while repre- 
sents the price of somebody's honest labor. At length 
he will see the reasonableness of industry and settle 
down with a purpose of making his way through life 
by means of honest endeavor. You now have the 
youth so far on his way to successful business under- 
taking. 

2. Ability to save. — All healthy boys are naturally 
inclined to be spendthrifts. Saving a part of one's 
means is a fine art acquired only through judicious 
practice. It is assumed that the young son is being 
reasonably paid for certain required tasks. So the 
next duty is to see that he saves a part of his earn- 
ings. For the purpose of this training in saving, a 
toy bank may be procured ; or he may be directed in 
depositing a small weekly sum in a penny savings 
bank. Still another way is to teach him to keep a 
book account of his earnings, giving him due-bills 
for the amounts withheld from his wages. 

There is one small business practice, the impor- 
tance of which for the boy is too frequently overlooked; 
that is, the practice of carrying a small amount of 
change in his pocket. He must learn to use his 
money thoughtfully and not merely on every occa- 
sion of his being allowed to have it. He must acquire 



224 The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business 

the habit of self-restraint in the use of money. To do 
this is to learn to spend judiciously. To have reached 
this stage of financial training is a sufficient guarantee 
that the youth is proceeding well on his way toward 
success in business enterprise. 

Start on a small scale 

Then, give your growing son as wide a variety of 
experience in work and in watching business affairs 
as the situation will permit of. During the process of 
this mental growth help him to make a small invest- 
ment in something that will grow and increase under 
his intelligent care. Let us assume that your spe- 
cialty is a certain strain of corn or a certain breed 
of cattle. If the boy shows an interest in this mat- 
ter, start him in at an early age, say ten to fourteen, 
on his own account. Give him in exchange for his 
work a small plot of ground on which to grow corn, 
perhaps with a view to his later entering the boys' 
contest for a prize. Or, help him to get a small 
beginning in the cattle business. 

But in case the lad shows no interest in your busi- 
ness, do not let the matter seriously trouble you for a 
moment. Simply continue to give him his general 
education, including the best school course available 
and a training in the performance of work as well as 
the judicious use of the spending money that may 
come into his hands. Careful study of the boy may 
indicate to you that his aptitude for business runs in 



Parental Tact and Foresight 225 

the direction of something to which you are giving 
little or no attention but to which you may in time 
bring him. 

There is the case of a successful wheat raiser who 
discovered his son's fondness for thoroughbred cattle. 
So the boy was carefully started on a small scale in 
the business of raising short-horns. To-day that 
son is known far and wide as an able specialist in this 
line of stock breeding. Now, if the father in this 
case had done as thousands of other farmers are still 
doing ; namely, if he had attempted to force the boy, 
against the latter's natural inclination, to take up 
wheat raising or any other undesirable business, 
then, the son would have most probably skipped off 
for the city and secured a fourth-rate place for the 
mere wages it would bring. Some day this tragic, 
oft-repeated story of mismanagement and misdi- 
rection of the growing boy will come out in all its 
distressing details. 

Give your son a square deal 

Deal with your young son on business principles 
from the beginning. Do not hastily and unwisely 
give him a piece of property that will have to be 
taken from him in the future because of its having 
grown into a disproportionate value. This old form 
of mistreatment of the country boy has been the means 
of thwarting the business integrity of many a prom- 
ising youth. 



226 The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business 

If the boy's small beginning develops under his 
care into a business of large proportions, the only 
check or hindrance that the ethics of the case will 
allow is that you treat with him on fair business terms, 
just as you would with any good business man. 
You may cause him to bear all his own personal ex- 
penses and all the expense connected with the care 
and development of his live stock or crop. Then the 
matter of curtailing him must stop. And if the son 
soon becomes able to buy you out, it is certainly an 
affair to be proud of, not a thing to hinder by unfair 
means. 

Keep the boy's perfect good will 

It is a serious matter to lose the boy's confidence 
or in any way break faith with him, even though 
there be nothing about the place in which you can 
make him take a business interest. As he grows to 
maturity his own inner nature must gradually guide 
him into the way of a calling — and a divine calling 
at that it may prove to be. It may not seem out 
of place to quote the words of a religious teacher who 
says: "Do you not know that if one's inner nature 
points out clearly and inspiringly what he should 
undertake for a life work, such thing may be regarded 
as the Voice of the Divine One speaking faithfully 
through the instrumentality of one of his own crea- 
tures?" 

So it may prove at length that you will have to sell 



Give Genius an Opportunity 227 

a load of corn in order to set up in the garret of your 
house a miniature art studio of some kind for your 
young son. Or, perhaps you may have to establish a 
small machine shop as an adjunct to the barn or wood 
shed, wherein the budding genius may blossom into 
that beauty of manly power and efficiency which all 
the world is glad to admire. Out of just such a wise 
indulgence as that last named a certain Kansas boy 
finally became enabled to revolutionize the old farm 
home and the work done there through the installa- 
tion of an excellent motor power plant. Electric 
light for the house and barn, power for operating 
feed grinder, washing machine, grindstone, fanning 
mill, and many other such machines — all this has 
resulted from the rightly directed work of a youth 
who could have easily been driven to the city into 
some treadmill of mere wage earning. 

But, occasionally the boy will prove himself a 
versatile character, succeeding in a measure in every 
line of small business to which you introduce him, 
yet showing a marked success in none. In such case 
the advisable thing to do is to continue his general 
education for a longer period than is necessary for 
the boy who shows an early inclination toward a 
given line of work. 

Some will be retained on the farm 

It is admittedly desirable, all things fairly con- 
sidered, that many of the very best boys remain on 



228 The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business 

the farm and help develop rural life into what it 
should be. Hence the necessity of finding a way to 
interest such boys in some of the many business 
affairs connected with the farm home. Perhaps there 
is no better way to develop the lad's interest in the 
affairs of the place than that of allowing him to 
participate in the practical business transactions as 
the conditions may allow. Let the parents take him 
to the store, the bank, and other such places for the 
benefit of his experience. Send him in with the 
produce with authority to sell and to invest a part 
of the proceeds in whatever the family may need. 
The father should have the boy with him when se- 
lecting and buying machinery or live stock at public 
sales. Send him to the bank with checks or drafts 
to be deposited or collected. Give him an oppor- 
tunity to keep the family accounts, or at least to 
keep his own recorded in a book. 

The ordinary farmer can think of more ways than 
the foregoing whereby to give his growing son the 
needed experience in money matters. The best re- 
sult of such practice is that if there be anything in 
connection with the affairs of the farm in which the 
boy will have a native interest this aptitude will be 
discovered ; and it can then be made the basis of the 
young man's introduction into a successful participa- 
tion in some practical business. The boy's perma- 
nent calling is seriously involved in this discussion. 
On page 270 of this book will be found a description 
of three methods of vocational training. 



A School at the County Fair 229 

The awakening often comes from without 

Parents who find it difficult to arouse the farm 
boy's interest in any part of the home business may 
sometimes easily secure the desired result by send- 
ing the youth away on a trip to the county fair or 
other such place. As a means of stimulating boys 
in respect to some kind of productive home industry 
the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College 
instituted a school of agriculture for country youths 
at the state fair. Each organized farmers' institute 
and each county superintendent was asked to send 
one boy. A large tent was furnished by the college. 
This served for a lecture and display room during 
the day and a boys' sleeping room during the night. 

At the first session 122 boys attended, coming 
from 57 counties. The lectures covered such sub- 
jects as farm crops, veterinary science, track and field 
athletics. The displays at the fair were used for 
illustrative matter. So far the results of the school 
have been reported most favorable. An increasing 
number of boys throughout the state are making 
preparation for it. 

An awakening in the south 

It is most encouraging to observe the changing 
ideals of business and industry now in progress 
throughout the nation. The many vocational- 
training schools and the increasing attendance at the 



230 The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business 

mechanical and industrial colleges bear witness of 
this fact. The American Negro, ever a faithful 
laborer, is now being taught in such institutions as 
Tuskegee and Hampton, not only to perform some 
honest work well but also to plan and prepare for a 
business of his own. 

The son of the southern planter is becoming more 
and more imbued with the new spirit of efficiency 
through personal industry. On this matter a mem- 
ber of the faculty of the Louisiana Agricultural and 
Mechanical College says : "It is a mistake to think 
that the best of the country youth of the south are 
continuing in the old-fashioned ideal of becoming 
mere gentlemen of culture and leisure. In 1910 there 
were nearly 50,000 boys living in a dozen of the 
southern states, who astonished the entire country 
with their achievements in corn-raising. They 
ranged in age from fifteen to eighteen years. At the 
national exhibit held in Columbus, Ohio, one hundred 
of them showed an average yield of 134 bushels of 
corn to the acre. This corn-growing practice is under 
the direction of the national government, and is more 
than a big, exciting contest, it is a splendid course in 
rural home education. 

"We have at this college hundreds of young men 
from the plantations and they are intensely interested 
in working out the industrial problems that pertain 
to their own home affairs. I have been surprised at 
their eagerness to get into the soil and to do the me- 



Plate XXV. 







■MP 



f'*> 



&~ m *- ' 







c 



V ttK>> 1^ 







An Example of Partnership 231 

chanical work connected with their studies. All over 
the south there seems to be an awakening among the 
boys and young men, of an interest in the industrial 
and commercial problems of the plantation." 

The farm papers and the educational magazines in 
the southern states give much evidence of this same 
sort of awakening. The farmers' and planters' 
organizations, the local improvement and school 
betterment clubs, and many other movements, are 
giving both incentive and direction to the country 
youths who are at all inclined to find an interest in 
the home affairs. The rural parents who desire out- 
side aid in arousing their boys' interest in the home 
business may well seek such assistance by bringing 
the latter into closer touch with one of these progres- 
sive organizations. 

i 
Partnership between father and son 

After the farmer's son has fully settled upon his 
father's business as an ideal one for himself, there 
may be brought to the latter a gradual relief from 
the worry of details, and that through a partner- 
ship management. A. G. Hulting, Jr., of Gen- 
eseo, Illinois, thus describes such a plan of coop- 
eration in a letter to Arthur J. Bill, the agricultural 
writer : — 

"We have 160 acres of land in the farm. My 
father owns the land. I do the work, provide all the 
labor, horses, and machinery, and we have an equal 



232 The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business 

interest in the live stock and we share equally in the 
net returns." 

Other terms of cooperation have proved successful. 
In many cases, the son rents all or a part of the place 
on terms similar to those allowed the outside renter ; 
excepting that he is usually given the advantages of 
free board and the use of the home conveniences. 
In all such business transactions between father and 
son it is highly advisable that the contract be carefully 
drawn in writing. The verbal contract is proverbially 
a trouble maker, and that even among relatives. 

Summary and concluding suggestions 

1. Not nearly all promising youths can be encour- 
aged to take a vital interest in the father's business. 

2. In case the boy cannot be induced to take a 
.permanent interest in anything on the home farm, 

he may at least have much practice in the transaction 
of the small business connected therewith. 

3. The ability to work willingly, the ideal that an 
honest living is to be earned through personal effort, 
and the practice of saving a part of the weekly or 
monthly earnings — these will give any boy an ex- 
cellent start on the road to success and affluence. 

4. Deal with the young son on business principles 
from the first, seeing that he shares reasonably in 
the losses as well as in the gains. Although his 
interest in any chosen line of work may not be- 
come vital till he makes some money out of it, 



A Summary of Suggestions 233 

hold him persistently in line during the "lean" 
years and thus allow him to learn the excellent 
lessons of failure. 

5. It may prove unfair to the members of the 
family to permit one of the sons to secure control of 
the business of the home farm. Some pathetic in- 
stances of this kind have really occurred. For the 
sake of the peace and well-being of all, such an occur- 
rence must be prevented by careful forethought. 

6. On the other hand, in case where the boy has 
started with a scrawny pig or through renting a piece 
of the home place, and, after dealing fair and square 
with all, has come into possession of considerable 
property of his own, do not wrest it from him or in 
any way take advantage of his minority. Such a 
youth will in time most probably reflect high credit 
upon the family. 

7. Finally, the farm parent needs to be warned 
against the possibility of developing his son into a 
mere money-maker. Such is a poor standard of 
success. The man whose only aim in life is merely to 
prosper financially is a poor citizen of any commu- 
nity. Teach the boy to succeed in his business ven- 
tures, but at the same time imbue him with the 
thought that his money wealth must be regarded as 
so much opportunity to help build up the commu- 
nity, the state, and the nation. Teach him that finan- 
cial success is worthy of the name only when it is 
linked with social efficiency. 



234 The Farm Boy's Interest in the Business 



REFERENCES 

Again we find the field of literature treating the subject directly an 
exceedingly scant one. In forming a business partnership with his son 
the farmer should be guided by well-tried precedent. A letter of specific 
inquiry to one of the leading agricultural papers will most usually bring a 
helpful reply. 
A First Lesson in Thrift. Horace Ellis. Psychological Clinic. March 

15, 1910. 
Industrial Education for Rural Communities. Annual Volume N.E.A., 

1907, p. 412. 
The Child's Sense of the Value of Money. Dr. William E. Ashcroft. 

S.S. Times, July 24, 1909. 
Psychology and Higher Life. William A. McKeever. Chapter XIV, 

"The Psychology of Work." A. Flanagan Company, Chicago. 
Industrial Education. Various Authors. (Pamphlet, 25 cents.) The 

Survey, N.Y. 
Industrial Education. Kimball. No. 1, Educational Monograph Series, 

School of Education, Cornell University. 



CHAPTER XV 

BUSINESS TRAINING FOR THE COUNTRY 
GIRL 

During a two-hour ride on a railway train the 
author had as a seat companion a sixty-year-old 
farmer and stock raiser, whose specialty was that of 
raising mules for the market. And what of definite 
information this good husbandman possessed about 
the long-eared beast of burden would fill a volume of 
considerable size. He knew just what time of year 
the mule should be foaled, when weaned, when broken 
to the halter and to work ; how to feed and groom a 
mule in order to get the best physical growth ; how 
to train the animal so as to develop all the latent good 
qualities and repress the bad ones. 

After the natural life history of the faithful mule 
had been carefully reviewed by the rural companion 
the conversation was turned to the subject of girls. 
Had he a daughter? "Yes, twenty-two years old." 
What did she know about money and the common 
affairs of business? "Business ! Mighty little any 
woman knows about business," said he. " We buy our 
girl what she needs and have put her through the 
town high school. I expect her to get married some- 

235 



236 Business Training for the Country Girl 

time. Her mother has taught her how to do house- 
work." Further than that the father seemed to 
know very little about his daughter, and he showed 
plainly that he did not consider this second topic 
of conversation half so interesting as the first one. 

Is THE COUNTRY GIRL NEGLECTED ? 

Inquiry will prove that the foregoing case of 
parental ignorance and indifference about the daugh- 
ter is all too common, especially the ignorance. It 
seems never to have occurred to many parents who 
have growing daughters that unless the young 
woman have a fair amount of knowledge of the value 
and use of money her future happiness and well- 
being and that of her family are in danger of becom- 
ing seriously jeopardized. It is a singular and yet 
lamentable fact that so many American parents, — 
parents too who are intensely desirous that their 
growing children have the best possible moral and 
religious teaching — that these same good parents 
fail to understand how one of the very foundation 
stones of efficient moral and religious life is consti- 
tuted of a definite body of knowledge of common 
business affairs. They do not seem to realize that 
the young man or the young woman who knows 
from experience just how money is earned, and how 
it may be judiciously expended and profitably in- 
vested, is far on the way to a high plane of moral and 
religious living. 



Why the Girl Leaves the Farm 237 

However, there is probably no place of greater 
opportunities for developing sober judgment in the 
growing girl than that afforded by the ordinary 
farm home. For here the business management of 
the household and of the farm affairs are practically 
merged. There is the further advantage of a con- 
siderable variety of ways whereby the daughter may 
be remunerated for what she does. But, how may we 
best interpret this question ? First of all, what in a 
practical sense is a satisfactory business training for a 
young woman, a farmer's daughter in particular ? 
Do we desire that she become a shrewd money-maker 
and successful in some sort of commercial life ? Few 
would take such a position. But in order that 
the young woman may be fully prepared to fill her 
heaven-ordained place as the center and source of 
love and influence in a family, we must provide that 
she be given just such instruction in the use of money 
as will enable her to occupy her high position with 
the greatest possible success. 

Why the girl leaves the farm 

Under the title above the Farmer's Voice prints 
portions of two letters which help to throw not a 
little light on this much-neglected subject. Miss 
Alta Hooper writes : — 

"The one great cry going out from the people, and 
one also much in need of an answer, is 'how to keep 
the boy on the farm.' It is very seldom that the girl 



238 Business Training for the Country Girl 

of the farm is alluded to, although it may be that 
she is included, in a general way, in the great amount 
of literature concerning her brother. But, take it 
from the farmer girl that she is a live one, and unless 
money is coming into her pockets, unless she is 
comparatively independent and has some interest 
to keep her awake, she isn't going to 'stay put,' but 
will get out where she can earn some money of her 
very own, to buy the little things so dear to the hearts 
of girls ; and she will not be questioned and lectured 
and scolded over every little expenditure. 

"Oh, the girls on the farm have minds and pride 
and ambition just as big as their brothers' too ; and 
in many cases they are not given half a chance to 
realize one iota of this ambition. It is then that a 
career off the farm and away from the farm home 
appeals to them. Then the thought comes that even 
though the salary to be earned may be small, still it 
is all one's own, and there is no fear in planning 
where and in what it shall be invested." 

Likewise, Mrs. F. L. Stevens, writing for Pro- 
gressive Farmer, says : — 

"How often have we seen young girls leaving com- 
fortable farm homes to go into typewriting, clerking, 
or bookkeeping, in order to have their own money. 
An allowance for personal expenses in the beginning 
would have solved this problem. But the father has 
not seen it that way. 

"It is not necessary that the daughter be given a 



Plate XXVI. 




ns „q 



d * 



Teach the Girl to Work 239 

monthly or yearly allowance of so much cash, but 
the really better way, it would seem, would be to 
start her in some special branch of work, say, poul- 
try-raising. Or perhaps she might be given a cow 
or a horse or a pig, which would in time bring in 
sums of money by careful management; and the 
business, a small one perhaps in the beginning, 
would easily develop. Many young girls like to 
work in a garden as the produce is always a good 
source of income and an interesting and educational 

work." 

Certain rules to be observed 

If we are to give up the idea that the young woman 
naturally possesses the necessary business judgment, 
and to substitute the better idea that she must be 
taught how to manage her own affairs ; then, What 
are the fundamental steps necessary to impart such 
instruction ? It seems to the author that they are 
these : — 

1 . Teach the girl to work. — As was shown in 
a previous chapter, the girl must be taught care- 
fully and conscientiously how to work. Even 
though she may be so fortunate — or unfortunate — 
as not to be compelled to do any of her own house- 
work, only a first-hand knowledge of how such work 
goes on will enable her successfully to direct it. 
The strength of our democracy is much dependent 
upon the character of our women. The modern tend- 
ency toward the development of a leisure class 



240 Business Training for the Country Girl 

among the women and girls of the wealthier families 
is quite as much a menace to social solidarity as 
was the older order of keeping women in ignorance 
and servitude. 

The problem of household help is much intensified 
because of the disfavor with which the so-called 
better classes of women look upon the vocation of 
the domestic employee. The necessary inequality 
of rank of the home mistress and her employees is 
more a matter of tradition and imagination than 
of reality. The social inequality which follows and 
which drives many young women into less advan- 
tageous places of employment will disappear just 
as soon as all growing girls are conducted through 
a carefully planned course of work and household 
industry. No farm parents can afford to deny the 
daughter the excellent disciplinary results of careful 
training in the performance of every ordinary house- 
hold duty. 

2. Teach her business sense. — In cases where the 
growing boy or girl is simply given spending money 
for the asking — or the begging — there results a 
perverted idea of the meaning of money. A girl so 
trained during her youthful years is inclined to take 
this same attitude toward her husband in the future. 
That is, she will probably regard it as necessary to 
beg for an allowance and deem it right and proper 
to spend all she can obtain in this way. The serious- 
ness of such relations between man and wife is easily 



One Cause of the Divorce Evil 241 

seen. But the growing girl can be taught that money 
is merely a convenient unit of measurement of values 
which are produced chiefly by means of work. 

Advanced students of our social life are putting 
forth much effort to solve the divorce problem. 
In their efforts to determine causes and to provide 
cures for divorce, some of them have gone so far 
as to advocate a school for matrimony, one of the ends 
being that of preventing incompatible persons from 
entering into the life union. Among the causes 
contributing to the divorce evil have been the radi- 
cally different ideals of the use of money on the part 
of the contracting pair. An attorney of long stand- 
ing experience with divorce cases says : — 

"As a rule the woman who alleges non-support in 
her petition for divorce reveals the fact, before the 
case is ended, that she is lacking in the proper idea 
of the use of money, is often especially weak in 
knowledge of how the family income should be 
spent if the family affairs are to go on satisfactorily." 

3. Train her to transact personal business. — 
Then, begin early in her life to teach the girl to 
transact business affairs that relate to her personal 
interests and to the home life of women. Do not 
buy all the little articles necessary for her, but allow 
her, with money reasonably provided, to make her 
own minor purchases under your advice and direction. 
The intelligent farmer knows somewhat definitely 
what his yearly income and outlay are. Why should 



242 Business Training for the Country Girl 

not his daughter be told how these accounts run, 
in the usual year, and she then be asked to keep an 
account of all her own personal affairs for a year ? 
Such required practice will do more than all the 
arithmetic lessons in the schools to inculcate an 
intimate knowledge of the value of money in relation 
to her own affairs — to say nothing of the good 
business judgment likely to be acquired. 

Thus the country girl may receive a better business 
training than her city cousin whose nearness to the 
attractive stores and shops proves a constant incen- 
tive for over-indulgence and wastefulness in the 
use of money. 

4. Make her the family accountant. — As soon 
as she becomes old enough, take the daughter into 
your confidence as regards the family expense 
account. Make her acquainted with the items of 
income and expenditure in detail. And also make it 
appear to her that the business of the home is not 
being conducted satisfactorily unless some portion 
of the income be set aside for the emergencies of the 
future. 

At this point there is offered an opportunity to 
give the daughter some much-needed business 
training. There is much being said of late by way of 
urging the farmer to keep an accurate book account 
of all his transactions. Out of the experiment 
stations have come published letters and bulletins 
urging that such things be done and showing methods. 



Miserliness to be Avoided 243 

But the evidence goes to show that the majority of 
farmers do not find time for it. So it will in many 
cases be found practicable to turn this important 
task of bookkeeping over to the growing daughter. 
Among the many benefits to be derived will be 
the excellent business training it will furnish her. 
As a diversion from the common household duties 
the accounting will prove most refreshing. And, 
then, the farmer will soon find this service to the 
farm business so important as to justify him in 
paying his daughter reasonably for the work. 

5. Miserliness to be avoided. — While the habits 
of a spendthrift are perhaps above all things else to 
be avoided, a close second to this as an evil practice 
is the habit of expending in a miserly and begrudging 
manner. So, teach the girl to give her money 
willingly for all the ordinary necessities and comforts 
of life and for such luxuries as the conditions will 
reasonably warrant. 

The far-sighted parent and the one really interested 
in the future of his daughter will readily observe 
how much enslaved adults finally become in the 
use of money. There are perhaps as many well-to- 
do persons who are miserly because they cannot help 
it as there are improvident persons who are spend- 
thrifts because they cannot longer prevent it. Both 
classes manifest the certain results of training and 
habit. In his interesting chapter on the psychology 
of habit Professor James explains so aptly how the 



244 Business Training for the Country Girl 

man, long practiced in enforced economy, but at 
length having ample means, goes to the store with 
the determination of paying liberally for an article; 
and how he finally comes away with something 
cheap. 

A "golden mean" is therefore to be sought in 
training the girl in the use of money. Not how to 
save at all hazards, but how to spend judiciously, 
with conscious thought of the right relation between 
income and outlay — this is perhaps the more 
acceptable ideal. 

6. Teach her to give. — While inculcating business 
ideas into the mind of your growing daughter, 
guard against her acquiring a mere passion for money- 
making and the accumulation of wealth. For 
example, one of the best means of achieving this end 
would be to see that she gives a part of her earnings 
to some worthy cause or other. Explain to her 
again and again that she must keep up in her life a 
sort of equipoise of receiving and giving, if the highest 
sense of inner satisfaction is always to be her portion. 

The young must learn sooner or later that there is 
other than a money profit to be derived from the 
investment of money. Accordingly, it will not be 
found difficult for the rural parents to point out to 
their daughter some place merely where she may 
invest a small part of her earnings in human welfare. 
An orphan child living in the neighborhood may be 
sorely in need of a new dress or school books, a 



Teach the Meaning of a Contract 245 

lonely and aged widow may be cheered by the gift of 
a wall picture, a crippled child may be accumulating 
funds for hospital treatment, or another person may 
have lost heavily from flood or fire. These and 
many more like them may be made the occasion of 
teaching the girl a beautiful lesson of sympathy and 
sacrifice. And the sacrifice should come out of 
what she has accumulated through her own small 
business enterprise. 

7. Teach the meaning of a contract. — It is 
often declared that women fail to appreciate the 
obligations of a contract, that they will enter into a 
strict agreement to buy an article or to pay for 
another and then refuse to carry out such agree- 
ment. Merchants have been so often called on to 
deal with this feminine change of mind that they 
have seen fit to establish a custom of taking back at 
cost any article not found satisfactory upon trial. 
This failure of women to adhere strictly to the terms 
of an agreement has given currency to the opinion 
that they are naturally dishonest. Weininger in 
his volume "Sex and Character" even offers a line 
of questionable proof to confirm the correctness of 
the opinion. 

But Dr. G. Stanley Hall in many of his researches 
shows that falsehood and deception are common 
and natural practices among ordinary children. All 
forms of honest and fair moral and business practice 
are less natural than acquired. They must have 



246 Business Training for the Country Girl 

actual experience, and much of it, as a basis for their 
becoming a permanent part of character. Hence, 
the so-called dishonesty of women in relation to the 
obligations of a business agreement — that is prob- 
ably nothing more than a matter of sheer ignorance. 
Farm girls are proverbially lacking in business 
practice and in knowledge of the rights and obliga- 
tions of a contract. It is obligatory upon their 
parents to remove such ignorance through business 
training. 

8. Prepare her to deal with grafters. — "The 
majority of his victims were women," is the state- 
ment so often read in connection with the fraudulent 
schemes of the exposed money shark. Millions of 
dollars are annually taken from credulous women by 
the get-rich-quick money trader. This polite form 
of theft has become so flagrant as to necessitate 
much vigilance and many prosecutions on the part of 
the national government. Widows and other de- 
pendent women are especially the sufferers. 

The necessity of preparing the innocent young 
woman to deal with the enticing business fraud is 
very apparent. Two or three matters must es- 
pecially be attended to in giving the required in- 
struction. First, take advantage of many occasions 
to explain to the girl just how a given case is being 
worked, so that she may be on guard against such 
allurements; second, it is well to advise the un- 
trained young woman against investing in any scheme 



Money Making Incidental 247 

of profit sharing that offers above a good current 
rate of interest. 

Should there be an actual investment? 

Then, what if anything should be done in the 
ordinary farm home by way of providing an invest- 
ment for the growing daughter so that she may daily 
have some practice in business affairs, as well as an 
income for use in meeting her personal expenses ? 
Before attempting to answer this question, let us 
be certain that we have the correct point of view of 
the growing daughter's ideal relation to the prac- 
tical affairs in the rural home. It seems to the 
author that there is only one safe rule of pro- 
cedure here and that is, whatever the investment, — 
if there be any at all, — it must be understood that 
the ideal is one of developing the girl into a beautiful 
womanhood and not one of making the investment 
pay in the mere money sense of the term. In other 
words, the business of the farm and the farm home 
must serve directly the highest interests of the mem- 
bers of the household, even though money accumula- 
tions cannot, as a result, go on quite so fast. Or, as 
we have put it several times before : The farm and 
the live stock and all that pertains thereto must be so 
managed as to contribute directly to the development 
of the high aspects of character in the boys and girls, 
and not as materials which the growing boys and girls 
are to help build up and multiply. 



248 Business Training for the Country Girl 

Now, if it still be insisted upon that the country 
girl have a definite business relation to the affairs of 
the home, there are two or three ways whereby this 
may be accomplished. One method is to give the 
girl a fixed and reasonable sum of money for whatever 
she may do by way of helping in the house. Another 
is that of providing a small investment in something 
that may be expected to increase reasonably in 
value and finally bring her a money return. Of the 
two methods of procedure mentioned, it would seem 
that the first is the more desirable. N If the daughter 
be given an interest in anything like the live stock 
or some farm crop, the thing will not appeal to her 
directly, and whatever interest she may have in it 
will be a purely borrowed one. On the other hand, 
if she be given a generous allowance for her services, 
and during the younger years be trained in the expen- 
diture of this allowance, good results may be expected. 
Similarly as with the boy, the growing girl must be 
taught to look toward the future. A system of re- 
straints must be placed against her tendency to 
squander her small income, and gradually she may be 
trained to set aside a small portion of what she has 
with a view to its being applied upon something of 
her own later in life. It is perhaps too much to ask 
the girl to save enough money to pay her way through 
college, but there are many advantages in training 
her to save for a certain portion of that expense. 
Perhaps she may be able to buy her own clothes. 



How Southern Girls Earn Money 249 

It is not reasonable to assume that every well- 
trained country girl will find it advisable to take a 
college course. So, instead of saving up for college 
expenses, she may be taught to lay by something for 
the day of her marriage and with the thought of 
helping equip a home of her own. As a matter of 
fact, it is not a question of the specific purpose for 
which the money may be set apart. The main 
issue is that of staying by her day after day and week 
after week, and guiding and advising her until she 
finally acquires good sense, mature judgment, 
and self-reliance in regard to the business affairs 
that may be expected to constitute a part of her 
life as a keeper of a home of her own. 

How the southern girls earn money. — One of the 
most interesting and significant modern movements 
in behalf of juvenile industry is that of the Southern 
Girls' Tomato Clubs, originated in 1910 by Miss 
Marie Cromer, a rural school teacher of North Car- 
olina. Thousands of young girls are now partici- 
pants in the new work, each one tending a small 
plat of tomatoes and canning the produce for the 
market. One girl is reported to have cleared $130 
from one season's crop raised on one fourth of an 
acre. The General Education Board and the Na- 
tional Department of Agriculture have given lib- 
eral support to this tomato-growing work. 



CHAPTER XVI 

WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY 
BOY HAVE? 

It is a well-known fact that rural life conditions 
have been changing rapidly within the past decade 
or more. It has taken us a long while to get away 
from the thought that the farmer is to be anything 
other than merely a plain, coarse man, comparatively 
uneducated and innocent of the ways of the world. 
But we are at last seeing the light in respect to this 
and many another such traditional belief of a men- 
acing nature. We are now looking forward ex- 
pectantly to the time when the rural community 
shall contain its proportionate share of people 
educated or cultured in the full sense of either of 
these words. 

Changes in rural school conditions 

Many of those now in middle life can easily 
remember when the farmer boy was sent to school 
only during the time when his services were not 
required for the performance of the work about the 
field and the home. This period was narrowed down 
to about three months in the year. After the 
corn was husked in the fall, he entered school, usually 

250 



Education Now Compulsory 251 

about December first. And at the first sign of 
spring, about March first, he was called away to 
begin preparations for the new season's crop. Dur- 
ing these sixty days, more or less, the growing lad 
was supposed to pick up the rudiments of learning 
and by the time maturity was reached to have worked 
himself out of the ranks of the illiterate. So he did, 
for he learned to read falteringly, to write a scrawling 
hand, and to solve a few arithmetical problems. 

We observe the new order of things. In practically 
all the states there have been recently enacted laws 
requiring every normal child to attend school during 
the entire term and to continue for a period of 
seven or eight years. The splendid results of this 
provision have only begun to be apparent, but 
another decade will reveal them in large proportions. 
Back of this new legislation in behalf of the boys 
and girls is the new ideal of the possibilities and 
the worth of the ordinary human being. We are 
just beginning to understand this splendid truth ; 
namely, that with very few exceptions all of our new- 
born young have latent within them all the aptitudes 
necessary for the development of beautiful and 
symmetrical character. The modern ideal of public 
education recognizes two things: first, the right of 
the child to the fullest possible development; and 
second, the duty of society to see that the child 
receive such training whether the parent may wish to 
accord it to him or not. 



252 What Schooling Should the Country Boy Have 

The author is especially desirous that the reader 
appreciate the situation sketched in the foregoing 
paragraph. What does it mean ? It means that 
our children are at last to have more nearly equal 
opportunities of development, that their worthy 
aptitudes or traits are to be brought out through 
instruction and made to do service in the construction 
of a sterling character. It means that we shall have 
cultured artisans as well as cultured artists ; that the 
plain man behind the plow or in the workshop 
shall be capable of thinking the big, inspiring 
thoughts as well as the little, puny ones. It means 
that there will spring up everywhere among the 
ranks of those once regarded as low and coarse, a 
magnificent society of men and women who, as in- 
dividuals, will feel and realize a secret sense of power 
and worth, and who will shine in the light of a new 
inspiration. 

The boy a bundle of possibilities 

It has been proved beyond question that the ordi- 
nary child contains at birth potentialities of devel- 
opment far greater in amount and variety than any 
amount of schooling can ever bring into full realiza- 
tion. If you will make a list of one hundred differ- 
ent and highly specialized vocations, and pause for 
a moment to contemplate the matter, you will 
doubtless agree that any common boy might be so 
trained as to some degree in any one of the hundred 



Plate XXVII. 




Real Dullards are Scarce 253 

that he might be made to do fairly well in several of 
them ; and that he might become an expert in at 
least one of them. 

So, there is little need of being worried over the 
thought that the boy is a natural-born dullard, 
without native ability to learn and finally to make his 
way in the world. It is true that there is occasion- 
ally a real "blockhead" among children, but such 
cases are quite as rare as imbecility and physical 
deformity. Indeed, such cases are nearly always 
connected with one or both of the defects just named. 
Then, while in the usual instance the child is to be 
assumed to possess an ample amount of native 
talent, one of the specific problems of his parents and 
teachers is that of learning in time what his best 
latent talent is, so that it may give proper incentive 
and direction for his vocational life. 

Classes of native ability 

Roughly speaking there are three classes of native 
ability in the [human offspring : the super-normal, 
the normal, and the sub-normal. The first is con- 
stituted of the geniuses — few and far between, 
perhaps one in a hundred to five hundred. The sec- 
ond is composed of the great mass of humanity upon 
which the stability of the race is built and out of 
which the geniuses — and the majority of the sub- 
normals — spring through fortuitous variation. The 
third class is constituted of the feeble-minded, the 



254 What Schooling Should the Country Boy Have 

imbeciles, and the exceedingly rare natural-born 
criminals — altogether, perhaps one in every two 
hundred or more of the population. 

Now, what we are trying to get at here is a fair 
estimate of what the parent may reasonably look 
for by way of a stock of native ability in his child. 
The natural-born genius will be known by one special 
mark ; namely, he will be so strongly inclined toward 
one special line of work or calling as to need no out- 
side stimulus or incentive to make him take it up. 
Indeed, in the usual case of a pronounced genius it is a 
very difficult matter to prevent the individual from 
following out his one over-mastering predisposition. 

The marks of feeble-mindedness or idiocy are too 
well known to need description. Such cases are also 
so rare and so special in their manner of treatment as 
to call for no extended discussion. 

The great talented class 

The great masses of humanity are constituted of 
what we mean here by the talented. That is, as 
described above, at birth they possess a large and 
abundant stock of potentialities of learning and 
achievement — much more than can ever become 
actualized because of the comparatively limited time 
and means for education and training. Of course, we 
recognize that among the talented classes there is an 
endless variety of combinations of abilities. So are 
there many degrees of ability. 



The Awakening of Talent 255 

But in addition to the foregoing marks of latent 
ability in the great middle classes we must note a 
distinctive feature of the development and education 
of such classes. It is this : The two great conditions 
necessary for the successful development of the ordi- 
nary child are stimulus and opportunity. Unless the 
slumbering talents be awakened by the proper stimuli, 
they may slumber on throughout the whole life- 
time and no one detect their presence; and unless 
opportunities for development be given to satisfy 
the awakened talent, it may return permanently to 
its condition of quiescence. 

In attempting to furnish the necessary stimuli and 
opportunities for the development of his boy, the 
farmer has — if he will only use it — a great advan- 
tage over the city father. The great variety of 
work-and-play experience afforded by the rural 
situation, the fairly good general schooling now com- 
ing more and more into reach of all farm homes, the 
many conditions contributory to self-reliance and 
independent thinking in the case of the boy — all 
these raw materials of stimulus and opportunity lie 
hidden about the common country home. But the 
parents must themselves become wider awake to the 
meanings and purposes of such materials, or otherwise 
their value is lost through disuse. And again, it is 
urged that parents make the same careful study of 
their children as they do of farm crops and live stock. 
See the reference lists following the first five chapters. 



256 What Schooling Should the Country Boy Have 

Round out the boy's natuke 

Fortunately, the new provisions of the schools are 
furnishing more and more definitely the equipment 
and the course of training most necessary for the 
masses of the growing children. Fortunately, too, 
the illiterate father is not to be permitted to dictate 
as to what subjects his boy is to study in the school, 
there being not only compulsory attendance, but 
strict requirements that every child pursue the pre- 
scribed course. The time is fast approaching when 
the rural parent in any community can feel assured 
that this course of study has been mapped out by 
expert authority in just such a way as to serve the 
highest needs of his boy, the idea being to teach and 
awaken every side of the young nature into its highest 
possible activity. 

In the usual case it is a waste of time to attempt 
to predetermine the boy's vocational life before he has 
gone at least well up through the intermediate grades 
of the common school ; and even then, there is usu- 
ally not much indication of what he is best suited for. 
So, one of the great purposes of the common school 
course is that of sounding the boy on every side and 
in every depth of his nature, so to speak, in order to 
find what is there, and to determine what he is by 
inheritance best suited to do as a life work. 

The usual inclination of the rural parent is that of 
looking at his son's education too strictly in terms of 



Plate XXVIII. 







P 3 



e ^ 



a"3 



£ 0) 

2 

c ■"• 

c c 

I £ 

- ? 



Wait for Natural Growth 257 

dollars and cents and to be impatient at the thought 
of the boy's taking a broad, fundamental course of 
schooling. Such school subjects as language and 
composition are especially thought of as a useless 
waste of time. But fortunately, as indicated above, 
the choice is no longer left either to the boy or his 
father. The former must pursue the subjects as- 
signed him and allow time to prove the wisdom of such 
a procedure, as it most certainly will. Wherefore, 
let the rural father attempt to think of his boy, not 
merely as a coming money-maker, but as a coming 
man; a man of power and worth and influence in the 
community in which he is to live, a man of whom his 
aged father in future time will be most proud, and 
by whom he will be highly honored. 

Other important matters 

As suggested above, the evidence is very over- 
whelming in effect that it is the duty of rural parents 
to give their children a broad, general course of 
training as a foundation for efficient life in any place 
or position. Moreover, it must not.be thought for a 
moment that the legacy of money or property will 
in any wise furnish a satisfactory substitute for such 
a course of training. Mean-spiritedness and narrow- 
mindedness are almost invariably prominent traits of 
the man who has been prepared to know nothing 
outside of his business even though that may be a 
big business. On the other hand, extensive culture, 



258 What Schooling Should the Country Boy Have 

including a character well developed in all of its 
essential elements, is by far the best equipment that 
can possibly be furnished the boy for his start in 
life. 

Now, while the growing boy's education must not 
be especially prejudiced in favor of any particular 
calling, there is no good reason why the farmer's 
son should not be given the benefit of every possible 
intimate and wholesome relation to the father's 
work and business. That is, he must not be forced 
to take up the vocation of farming, but he must be 
given every opportunity to know its best meanings 
and advantages. And if he is finally to leave for 
some foreign occupation, he must go with a profound 
sense of the possible worth and integrity of the calling 
of his father. Then, in order that there may be 
maintained most friendly relations between the farm 
boy and the farm life, see to it that he has an occa- 
sional outing. Widen the scope of his home environ- 
ment by means of sending him outside occasionally. 
Let him go off to the state and county fair and learn 
what he can there. Let him participate in the grain 
and stock judging contests, as heretofore recom- 
mended. Let him attend some of the larger sales 
of blooded stock and learn there to know more inti- 
mately the possibilities of animal husbandry. Ac- 
company him on a trip to the big city occasionally — 
under proper provisions and restrictions — and help 
him to acquire some valuable lesson which may be 



A Human Interest Necessary 259 

taken back to the rural community and used to the 
advantage of the latter. 

Also, what about the literature in the home ? 
Although a chapter has already been given to the 
matter, for the sake of emphasizing its great impor- 
tance it is again referred to here. Why not see to it 
that there be secured a few enticing volumes of the 
clean and uplifting sort ? A very few dollars will 
furnish the nucleus of a library of which the boy will 
soon become proud. Ask the school superintendent 
or teacher to make out a list of ten of the best books 
for your boy and then secure these at once. Bring 
into the home also one or two of the best standard 
magazines and keep constantly on the table one or 
more of the best and cleanest newspapers. Then, see 
to it that the boy's life be not so nearly dragged out 
during the day's work that he cannot spend thirty 
minutes or more of each evening at the reading table. 

Develop an interest in humanity 

All education is for the sake of human welfare. 
The thing learned like the material thing possessed 
is most worth while in proportion as it serves some 
high human purpose or need. There is abundant 
opportunity to teach the country boy that education 
cannot well exist for its own sake or purely for one's 
own selfish uses. So it is well early to awaken the 
youth's interest in people. Have him compare his 
own lot with that of others in very different circum- 



260 What Schooling Should the Country Boy Have 

stances. Take him occasionally to the orphanage, 
the industrial (reform) school, the imbecile and in- 
sane asylums, the prisons, and the sweat-shops in the 
city. Thus through acquainting him with how the 
other half lives you may cause the boy to reflect seri- 
ously on the best meanings and possibilities of his 
own life, and to plan in his mind a splendid ideal of 
integrity for his own coming manhood. 

The boy's education is not going on rightly if he is 
not being introduced to the current affairs of the 
world. The literature suggested above should be 
made to serve the purpose of bringing his attention 
to these matters. He should become interested in 
the political welfare of his community, his state, and 
his nation, and learn to feel his responsibility in re- 
gard to such things. But he will probably not volun- 
tarily acquire these better relations to society at 
large. It should therefore be regarded as the urgent 
duty of the parent to give the necessary guidance 
and instruction. 

Finally, we must again be reminded of the high 
ideals of education and culture necessary to, and 
consistent with, substantial country life. The great- 
est of producing classes — the agronomists — must 
and can in time rank at the head of all others in moral 
and intellectual worth. So, let the rural parent look 
ahead and formulate in his own mind the splendid 
vision of his son grown up to full maturity of all his 
best powers." Let him see this future citizen as a 



References 261 

man of magnanimity, of splendid personal force, and 
of great constructive ability in the important work of 
building up the affairs of the community in which he 
is to live. 

REFERENCES 

Chapters in Rural Progress. President Kenyon L. Butterfield. Chapter 
VI, "Education for the Farmer." University of Chicago Press. 

Education for the Iowa Farm Boy. H. C. Wallace. Pamphlet. (Free.) 
Chamber of Commerce, Des Moines. 

Value during Education of a Life Career Motive. C. W. Eliot. Annual 
Volume N.E.A., 1910. 

To keep Boys on the Farm. M. E. Carr. Country Life. April 1, 1911. 

Education Best Suited for Boys. R. P. Halleck. Annual Volume 
N.E.A., 1906, p. 58. 

The Training of Fanners. Dr. L. H. Bailey. The Century Company. 
Contains a statistical study of why boys leave the farm. 

The Best Thing a College does for a Man. President Charles F. Thwing. 
Forum, Volume 18, p. 579. 

The Care of Freshmen. President W. O. Thompson. Annual Vol- 
ume N.E.A., 1907, p. 723. 

Proceedings of Child Conference for Research and Welfare. Page 142. 
"The Discipline of Work." Frederick P. Fish. G. E. Stechert & 
Co., New York. 

The Young Man's Problem. Educational Pamphlet No. 1. Society of 
Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis. New York. 10 cents. Every 
parent should read this excellent discussion on sex education. 



CHAPTER XVII 

WHAT SCHOOLING SHOULD THE COUNTRY 
GIRL HAVE? 

Perhaps it need not be urged that the country girl 
be provided with the same general educational ad- 
vantages as those outlined for the country boy, as 
the plain demands of justice would mean as much. 
She, too, must be thought of as possessing all the 
beautiful latent possibilities, and high ideals of per- 
sonal worth and character should be constantly 
entertained for her in the minds of her parents. 
And then, they must allow no ordinary business con- 
cern about the farm home to stand in the way of her 
unfoldment in the direction of these higher ideals. 

Special problems relating to the girl 

Over and above those provisions which relate to 
the general development of the country boy there are 
several special considerations in reference to his 
sister. For example, she has a more delicate physical 
organism which must be shielded, especially at times, 
against the heavy drudgery that will naturally fall 
upon her willing shoulders. And then, the stand- 
ards require of her rather more of refined manners 
than they do of her brother. Moreover, it may be 

262 



Protect the GirVs Health 263 

shown that a refined and attractive personality will 
become a larger asset in her life than in his. Come- 
liness and habitual cheerfulness and numerous other 
like qualities must be thought of as necessary and 
helpful characteristics of the well-reared country 
girl. It will also be much to her advantage to have 
some special training in at least one of the so-called 
fine arts. Let her have her musical education or 
some advanced work in literature or painting. A 
sum of money invested in something of this sort while 
the daughter is growing may be considered a far 
better investment than if the same amount were laid 
away to invest in a dowry. 

Protecting the girl at school 

It is not merely obligatory that the farmer send 
his young girl to the district school regularly, and 
thus round out her nature symmetrically through 
instruction in all the common branches. The deli- 
cate nature of the normal girl requires far more pro- 
tection than is often accorded it. Unlike the city 
walks and pavements, the country road leading to 
the schoolhouse is often menaced by muddy sloughs, 
tall vegetation, and deep snow banks. Wading 
through such places, especially in bad weather, gives 
undue exposure, the feet frequently becoming wet 
and the body thoroughly chilled. Many children sit 
all day in the schoolroom in this condition. As a 
result of the lowered vitality the incipient forms of 



264 What Schooling Should the Country Girl Have 

various diseases enter the body, there perhaps to 
return intermittently and with more serious effects 
as the life advances. 

What may be done as preventive measures, it is 
asked. Simply this : Prepare a better road from the 
home to the schoolhouse, by putting in foot crossings 
over ravines, by mowing weeds and grass, by filling 
and draining low places, and the like. On stormy 
days and on occasions when the young adolescent 
girl is passing through her monthly period of weakness 
— one especially endangering the health — it will be 
advisable to provide a conveyance to school and back. 

Country parents also often need to be cautioned 
in regard to over-working the school girl. Some even 
require her to do practically the same amount of 
work as she could well endure were there no extra 
burdens at school. Manifestly, this is both unjust 
and injurious. Observe the conduct of the young 
school girl for a few days. If there is no song and 
laughter in her life ; if she is not ruddy in complexion 
and buoyant of step ; if she mopes and drones about 
the place ; do not censure her, but seek a constitu- 
tional cause and watch for evidences of an over- 
requirement of work. 

The close inspection of the health of school chil- 
dren, now conducted in many cities, brings out the 
somewhat startling fact that many boys and girls 
come to the class room every morning fatigued and 
depressed beyond the point of effective study. The 



New Methods with Dullards 2G5 

old way was to call them dullards, to punish them, 
to shame them out of the school, to humiliate their 
parents. The new method of dealing with such chil- 
dren calls for scientific measures. First, the exact 
conditions are ascertained by experts; second, the 
parents are urged and helped to provide for the child 
more sleep, better food, more fresh air in the living 
chambers, more recreation, a relief from over-work, 
or some special medical care — as the particular case 
may demand. 

If one wishes full evidence of the effective gain for 
studentship that results from the new manner of 
treatment of the dull and backward pupil, let him 
examine the many reports of individual cases as pub- 
lished in the Psychological Clinic at the University 
of Pennsylvania, especially the issues of 1909-1910. 
The indifference or the thoughtlessness of country 
parents may easily allow for the existence of the 
foregoing bad physical conditions in the case of their 
own daughter, and as a result her otherwise promis- 
ing life may become permanently blighted. 

Lessons in music and art 

The ordinary farmer needs to learn to take more 
pride in his daughter and in her accomplishments. 
The time will come when he will be far more proud 
of her wealth of character than he will be of her wealth 
of material goods. A country father of moderate 
means bought a first-class piano for his two girls and 



266 What Schooling Should the Country Girl Have 

employed a music teacher. "You may think that 
I cannot afford such things," said he. "But I can. 
I am running this farm for the good it will do my 
family." He was a true philosopher, as well as a 
successful farmer. 

It is entirely practicable and most helpful to her 
development to provide that the country girl be given 
instruction in music, or art, or something special and 
advanced in the form of needlework. In its best 
sense this special instruction will not be thought of 
as vocational training, but rather as a necessary 
manner of giving permanent expression to her aes- 
thetic nature. The author believes that the matter 
should be stated even more emphatically. That is, 
not to give the normal girl some such means of in- 
dulging her aesthetic tastes is seriously to neglect her 
education, if not to do her a permanent wrong. 

While vocational training and economic advantages 
are important secondary considerations in connection 
with the daughter's instruction in the fine arts, the 
father who helps her become an amateur in one of these 
lines thereby renders her a splendid service for life. 
It is neither very difficult nor very expensive to 
arrange to have the girl go to the near-by town or to 
a neighbor's once or twice per week where she may 
receive competent instruction in music or painting. 
To make the arrangement most effective there will 
need to be a musical instrument in her own home, a 
conveyance at her ready disposal, and a regular 



Practical Results of Training 267 

allowance of time for practice. No just and affec- 
tionate parents can deny their young daughter any 
fewer advantages than these, if the means for secur- 
ing them can at all be acquired. 

The reward will come in time 

The lessons in painting or fine needlework may be 
provided for in the same way. If the expense seems 
heavy, the far-sighted parents will think of their 
declining days of the future and imagine the large 
return the daughter may render them through the 
skill which they have been instrumental in develop- 
ing in her. 

But without waiting for old age to overtake them 
the father and mother of the girl artist may derive 
some benefits from her work. She may furnish the 
table service with hand-painted chinaware or adorn 
the walls of the home with attractive paintings. And 
also, as heretofore indicated, the daughter may her- 
self in time conduct a class of amateur students of the 
fine art in which she has made preparation. 

One word of precaution must be offered in refer- 
ence to the training here considered. In the usual 
case the girl is not started young enough. Her 
advancement in the music, for example, is likely to be 
much more rapid and her skill much more marked, 
if the age nine to eleven, rather than five or six 
years later, be chosen as the beginning time. The 
author has witnessed many pathetic instances of 



268 What Schooling Should the Country Girl Have 

adult girls in a desperate attempt to master the me- 
chanical part of the introductory music. The extra 
amount of desire and effort possible at this more ad- 
vanced age do not nearly compensate for the better 
memory and the greater facility of hand and finger 
movement possible at the earlier age. This same 
general law of early beginning probably holds good 
in respect to the other fine arts. 

In relation to all the foregoing seemingly trivial 
matters there comes to mind what is perhaps the 
most serious problem that confronts practically 
every well-reared young woman ; namely, that of her 
successful marriage to a worthy young man — a 
subject to be discussed at length in another paper. 
And so it is contended that if her future happiness or 
well-being be a consideration, if the realization of 
her fondest hopes and her instinctive desires be 
worthy of the thought of her parents; then, they 
must by all means see that some of the foregoing 
refining qualities become woven into her whole 
character during the formative period. Thus she 
may be given practically every possible advantage 
in finding that true life companion. 

The mother's office as teacher 

In his usual familiar and straightforward way 
"Uncle" Henry Wallace thus addresses the country 
mother through the medium of an editorial in Wal- 
laces' Farmer : — 



Duties of the Mother 269 

" It is the mother that shapes and molds the charac- 
ter of the girl. If she is sweet spirited, looks out 
upon the world hopefully and desirous of seeing the 
best in men and women, her daughters will as a rule 
have the same sort of outlook. If she permits gossip 
and fault-finding at the table, her daughters may 
reasonably be expected to do likewise. If she sharply 
criticises the preacher's sermon at the Sabbath 
dinner, she need not expect her daughters to become 
devout. If she is a poor housekeeper, how can she 
expect her daughters to excel in that finest of all 
arts ? We know something of the depth and tender- 
ness of a mother's love, how earnestly she seeks the 
welfare of her daughter ; but if she has a wrong con- 
ception of what is best in life, even this unspeaking 
affection may be the source of evil instead of good. 

" One of the first things you should consider about 
that girl of yours is her health. Give her plain food 
and plenty of it, sensible clothing, a well-ventilated 
and well-lighted room, and all the exercise that she 
wants, even if she does seem to be something of a 
tomboy; and, barring accidents, she will usually be 
healthy through early girlhood. When she begins 
to develop into womanhood is the time for you, 
mother, to do what no one else can. Tell her about 
herself, about the changes that must come, and about 
the care she must take of herself if she is to be a 
healthy and happy wife and mother. A mistake 
here through false modesty is often the source of 
trouble for years to come." 



270 What Schooling Should the Country Girl Have 

Home-life education 

This book is based on the assumption that every 
good young woman is good for something of a prac- 
tical nature. In considering the make-up of such a 
character, it seems reasonable to assert that no other 
qualities stand out more prominently than the trained 
ability to carry on successfully the work of the house- 
hold. The necessary drudgery of the home life seems 
to be the greatest burden that modern society has 
placed upon women. Proportionately great should 
be the preparation to bear this burden. The ideal 
to be realized is, perhaps, not that the girl may be 
enabled to do more of such work, but that she may 
be trained to be true mistress of it. Woman's work 
is never done, and it never will be, no matter how 
many worthy women kill themselves in an attempt 
to finish it. So the greatest thing to be desired in 
respect to this unending round of toil and drudgery is 
that of a well-poised, spiritually-minded character, 
such as may enable its possessor to sit down at the 
end of a working period unusually long and in spite 
of the confusion and unfinished business restore the 
composure and keep in touch with the higher impli- 
cations of life. 

It is not really a difficult matter to teach the ordi- 
nary growing girl to work and perform faithfully all 
of her assigned duties. It is more of a task to teach 
her how to quit when she has worked long enough 



Plate XXIX. 




Self-supremacy an Aim 271 

and thereby to preserve her health and prolong her 

services. 

Education for supremacy 

It is unquestionably a splendid aid to successful 
womanhood for the growing girl to be taught how to 
cook and sew and take care of a house. But as a 
guarantee of peace and happiness throughout life 
she had better be taught many specific lessons in 
self-mastery. And it seems certain that the farm 
home offers many more advantages for developing a 
poised character in the young woman than does the 
city home. So let it be seen to by country parents 
that their girls be trained from childhood to meet 
life's stress and storm with calm composure and sweet 
serenity. Only such training will suffice to tide the 
latter over the great crushing ordeals that tend at 
some time to fall to the lot of every good woman. 

Conditions in the well-ordered country home may 
be made to contribute to another form of self-mastery 
in the growing girl. That is, she may be made su- 
preme over the conventionalities of dress and the 
social customs that touch her life. By this it is not 
intended to prescribe in respect to such things as the 
style or appearance of the young woman's clothing. 
She may be first or last or medium in the list of the 
well-dressed. But it is here contended that she can 
be trained to subordinate these matters to a personal 
charm that is her very own, and that emanates from a 
beautiful and well-poised life within. It is quite as 



272 What Schooling Should the Country Girl Have 

destructive to good character for one to be meanly 
clothed through necessity and at the same time envy 
and despise those who are better dressed as it is to be 
among the richly adorned and try to make mere 
adornment a mark of better and superior rank in 
society, or a means of lacerating the feelings of one's 
associates. 

The country mother will let pass one of the rarest 
forms of opportunity for refining and beautifying 
the character of her daughter if she does not educate 
the latter rightly in respect to these conventionalities. 
Train her to be neat and attractive in appearance, 
but at the same time teach her that no manner of 
outer adornment can cover up or substitute for sweet- 
ness and purity of the inner life. The splendid effects 
of such an education will reveal themselves to best 
advantage in the young woman when she has finally 
entered a home of her own. If she cannot then and 
there shine in a light that emanates from her own 
soul, the sacrificial work of ministering to the needs 
of her own household will never be well performed. 

An outlook for social life 

Provision will by all means be made that the grow- 
ing country girl be introduced to the best social life 
within reach. She must mingle with those of her 
own age and learn how others think and act. She 
must attend parties and the other social gatherings, 
especially the literary societies if there be any avail- 



Altruism is Recommended 273 

able. For the sake of her training, if for no better 
reason, she may be brought into close relation to the 
Sunday school and the church. It will be good, in- 
deed, if she find some congenial work in one or both 
of these organizations. Let it be remembered that 
the healthy-minded, well-matured woman is very 
probably at her best and is most highly satisfied and 
contented with life only when she has opportunities 
to perform some kind of worthy social service. Farm 
parents may well bring it about, therefore, that their 
young daughter have some specific deeds of altruism 
to perform. Let her carry a small gift or a word of 
cheer to the door of the sick or the infirm. Let her 
make with her own hands some simple, inexpensive 
present to be carried to the one who needs it most and 
whose heart will be made glad by it. 

Above all things else, it must be provided that some- 
thing more than the mere grasping nature of the 
young country girl be indulged and developed. Some 
there are who still contend that life for men is, at its 
best, a game of chance and contention. But such an 
ideal, if held up to the growing girl, will tend to check 
or destroy all that is best and most beautiful in the 
feminine nature. Young women especially must 
learn through practice that the best and most beauti- 
ful character is altogether consistent with the per- 
formance of deeds of service and altruism. 

Finally, educate into the daughter as much habitual 
cheerfulness as possible, let her heart be made glad 



274 What Schooling Should the Country Girl Have 

again and again, not merely because of what she has, 
and because of what she receives day by day, but also 
and especially on account of what she gives out of 
the best and sweetest of her own nature in behalf of 
those whom she may find occasion to help and cheer 
on their way over the journey of life. All this will 
help to make her a creature of whom not only the 
other members of her family, but also the entire com- 
munity will be most proud. 

REFERENCES 

My Escape from Household Drudgery. Mary Patterson. Success 

Magazine, August, 1911. 
Proceedings of Child Conference of Research and Welfare. Beulah 

Kennard. Page 47, "The Play Life of Girls." G. E. Stechert & 

Co., New York. 
Women's School of Agriculture. I. H. Harper. Independent, June 29, 

1911. 
The Girl of To-morrow — Her Education. E. H. Baylor. World's 

Work, July, 1911. Prize essay. 
Education of Women for Home Making. Mrs. W. N. Hutt. Annual 

Volume N.E.A., 1910, p. 122. 
Give the Girls a Chance. Canfield. Collier's, March 12, 1910. 
The Durable Satisfactions of Life. Charles W. Eliot. Pages 11-57, 

"The Happy Life." Crowell. 
The Kind of Education Best Suited for Girls. Anna J. Hamilton. 

Annual Volume N.E.A., 1907, p. 65. 
Parasitic Culture. Dr. George E. Dawson. Popular Science Monthly, 

September, 1910. 
Training the Girl to help in the Home. William A. McKeever. Pam- 
phlet. 2 cents. Published by the author. Manhattan, Kan. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE FARM BOY'S CHOICE OF A VOCATION 

Turn which way you will upon the great broad 
highway of life and there you will always be able to 
find the wrecks and broken forms of humankind — 
men and women who have failed in their life pur- 
poses. Strange to say, that particular aspect of the 
science of character-building which has to do with the 
substantial preparation for vocational life has been 
very much neglected. By what rule do men suc- 
ceed in their callings and by what different rule do 
other men fail ? Are some foreordained to success 
and others to failure ? Is there an inherent strength 
in some and a native weakness in others ? Is there a 
type of education and training which specifically fits 
and prepares for each of the native callings ? None 
of these questions has been thoroughly gone into 
with a view to finding out what were best to be done 
and what best to leave undone. So, we blunder 
away, hit or miss, in the vocational training of our 
boys and girls. 

Should the farmer's son farm? 

In attempting to give helpful suggestions to farm 

parents relative to their boy's vocation, perhaps this 

275 



276 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 

question will first demand an answer. The tenta- 
tive reply to it is this : The farmer's son, or any other 
man's son, should follow that calling for which he is 
best suited by nature and in which he will thereby 
have the greatest amount of native interest ; provided 
it be practicable to prepare him for such calling. 
Some farm boys are destined by nature for me- 
chanical pursuits, others for social or clerical work, 
others for captains of industry, and so on. Like- 
wise, the city boys may reveal in their natures a great 
variety of instinctive tendencies and interests which 
will be found of great worth in guiding them into a 
successful life occupation. 

Yes, the farmer's son should by all means take up 
his father's business; provided that at maturity he 
may have both native and acquired interest in the 
same and that to a degree predominating any other 
native or acquired interest. 

Impatience of parents 

It can be proved that the country boy matures 
more slowly than the city boy. For example, at the 
age of sixteen, he is behind the latter in height, weight, 
school training, and sociability. But while the city 
boy matures more rapidly, the country boy makes 
up for the loss by a longer period of development. It 
is the author's firm belief that this fact of slow growth 
proves a tremendous advantage to the country youth 
in that it allows for greater stability of character, 



Dangers of Haste 277 

and especially for a greater amount of courage and 
aggressiveness in form of permanent life habits. 

But one might well wish that all rural parents could 
realize the evil consequences of being impatient with 
the son in respect to his choice of a life work. Many a 
good boy yet in his teens is hounded and driven about 
by the continuous nagging of his parents, who ig- 
norantly believe that he should have his future des- 
tiny all planned and ready for its realization. As a 
result, this same good boy is often driven to despera- 
tion and to the point of leaving the home place — 
of breaking away from the affectionate ties that bind 
him to parents, and of seeking the position wherein 
he might earn a living. As a matter of fact, few 
young men have any very clear or reliable vision of 
their future life at the age of eighteen, or even twenty. 
Many of the best men in the world are faltering and 
uncertain even as late as twenty-five. However, if 
the relatives and friends would only exercise all due 
patience, offering only such helps and suggestions 
as can be given, and trusting the future finally to 
throw upon the problem a light from within the 
youth himself — then, we may be assured, practi- 
cally every man will finally come to some line of 
effort that will bring him a comfortable living. 

What of predestination? 

The old-fashioned idea of a boy's being marked 
by the hand of destiny, "cut out for" some particular 



278 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 

calling in life, still has a place in the minds of the 
masses. The kindred belief that some men are 
"natural-born failures" has also wide currency. 
A third superstition is the very common opinion 
that others are "just naturally lucky." All these 
traditional opinions are the outgrowth of ignorance of 
human nature such as may be dispelled by means of 
a course of instruction, or a carefully arranged 
course of home reading, in modern psychology. 

None of the foregoing superstitions would be 
worthy of our attention were it not for the gross in- 
justice which they entail upon children. Parents 
everywhere — in both city and country — are dealing 
with their children upon the assumption that one 
and all of these fallacies are true. "My oldest boy 
just naturally has no luck," said the father of three 
sons and two daughters. "He changes around from 
one thing to another and fails every time." But 
what of this particular boy's early training ? Was 
it the same as that of the others ? Did he enjoy 
equal advantages ? Did his parents when married 
really know anything about rearing children? or, did 
they really mistreat their first-born through ignorance 
and use him as a sort of practice material from which 
they learned how to do better by the succeeding ones ? 

Until the foregoing inquiries about the "unlucky" 
son's boyhood life be fully answered, we cannot 
reasonably permit ourselves to condemn him. There 
is nothing more in predestination than this ; namely, 



Natural-born Failures Few 279 

it can be shown that the child is born with not 
a few latent abilities — aptitudes for doing and 
learning this and that — and that one of these 
aptitudes is likely to have correlated with it more 
than the average amount of nerve development 
in the corresponding brain center. As a result, 
that particular aptitude will require less training 
than the others and will tend to predominate over 
them as maturity is approached. 

The reply of the psychologist to the statement 
that some men are "natural-born failures," 'is 
this : Few if any of those possessed of ordinary 
physical and mental qualities at birth are necessarily 
so. Excepting the feeble-minded and the like, — 
whose marks of degeneracy are usually apparent to 
all, — it may be asserted on the highest authority 
that none are "natural-born failures" to any greater 
extent than they are "natural-born successes"; but 
that they have within the inherited nerve mechanisms 
many possibilities of both success and failure. 

Three methods of vocational training 

We should be willing to overlook almost any other 
interest in this discussion for the sake of inducing 
in the farm father the belief that his young boy is 
a potential success — the belief that this boy is 
furnished by nature with the latent ability to shine 
somewhere in the broad field of human endeavor — 
provided he be rightly trained and disciplined during 



280 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 

his growing years. Here, then, is probably the 
greatest of all the human-training problems ; namely, 
the vocational one. 

Roughly speaking, there have been three methods 
of vocational training. 

1. The apprentice method. — First, historically 
there has been the apprentice method, the youth 
being "bound out to learn a trade." The chief 
faults of this traditional way of teaching the boy 
to be self-supporting were these : it made no allow- 
ance for intellectual development, and it gave the 
father too much authority to choose the calling for 
the boy. 

A modern offshoot of the old-time apprentice 
course is the trade school which flourishes in many 
of the big cities to-day. This new institution has one 
great advantage over its prototype. It offers such 
a great variety of forms of training that the youth 
may exercise much free choice. But it preserves 
one of the serious defects of apprenticeship in its 
neglect of the intellect of the learner. The modern 
trade school can never hope to do more than prepare 
young men and women to make a good living. It is 
a get-ready-quick institution, and can never be 
expected to give the student breadth of view and 
depth of insight into the great problems of human 
life. 

2. The cultural method. — The second-oldest 
method of preparing men for a vocation is what 



Three Vocational Methods 281 

has been called the cultural method. It has aimed 
at high advancement in book learning with the 
thought of finally enabling the student to enter a 
professional class comparatively few in numbers 
and supposed to possess a superior advantage over 
the great mass of human kind. One fault of this 
method has been to emphasize learning for its own 
sake and to defer too long the training of the individ- 
ual in the material and practical side of his calling. 

But the chief fault of this cultural method has been 
its contempt for common labor and ordinary industry, 
its theory being that true education prepares one to 
avoid such practices. If the young man wished to 
prepare for law or medicine or teaching or the 
ministry, — one of the "learned professions," — then 
the old classical school was at his service. But if he 
would become a mere artisan or industrial worker, 
there was no advanced course of schooling available. 

3. The developmental method. — The third and 
newest method of preparing the young person for 
his vocational life is in reality a compromise between 
the first and second. It provides that the learner 
shall have book instruction and industrial training 
at the same time, and that both of these are to be 
regarded as cultural, since taken together they 
prepare for independence of thought and action, and 
for the vocation, as well. This new method of 
preparing young people for their life work would 
call nothing mean or low. It aims to serve all 



282 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 

impartially in their struggle for self-improvement 
and vocational success. But its motto is the de- 
velopment of head and hand together. It seeks 
to produce cultured handicraftsmen as well as cul- 
tured artists and professional men. 

The farmer fortunate 

Our justification for the foregoing somewhat 
lengthy discussion of the different theories of educa- 
tion is that of wishing to be certain of bespeaking 
the father's patience and forbearance in the prep- 
aration of his son for the vocational life. The 
farmer is most fortunate in having ready at hand a 
large amount and variety of industrial practice 
to supplement the boy's book lessons. In this respect 
he probably has a superior advantage over all other 
classes. 

But in guiding his boy gradually toward the 
vocational life the farm father can easily mistake 
what is merely a passing interest on the former's 
part for a permanent one. The carefully kept 
records of farm boys show that they take up many 
different lines of work with great enthusiasm, and 
yet soon tire of them and drop them. These serial 
and transitory interests are usually mere juvenile 
responses to the awakening of some new nerve 
centers. They are not much different in nature from 
the brief passing interest which the child has in his 
various playthings. 



What College for the Boy 283 

Now, the chief function of these transitory interests 
in special forms of work and learning as shown by 
the young growing boy is this : to furnish the 
occasions for a great variety of activities and practices 
for trying him out on all the possible sides of his 
nature. Not one of these intense boyish interests is 
necessarily very directly preparatory to his final 
choice of a vocation, while all are indirectly so. 
Therefore, if the fifteen-year-old son chances to 
win in a corn-raising contest, or at a live-stock exhi- 
bition, or if he manifests unusual interest in arith- 
methic, declamation, or nature study, do not regard 
any of these as necessarily pointing to his best 
possible vocational work. Presumably, at such 
an undeveloped age, he is still in possession of some 
latent interests and aptitudes, one of which may 
far outweigh any such thing hitherto awakened 
in his life. Give him time to mature and, if at 
all practicable, send him on to college. 

What college for the country boy 

It is the opinion of the author that the State 
Agricultural College, as now situated and organized, 
is the ideal institution of higher learning for the 
country-bred youth. It offers him every reasonable 
incentive and opportunity for continuing in the 
calling of his father, if he be so inclined, while at 
the same time it gives instruction in many other 
departments of learning. Whether the state in- 



284 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 

stitution be a separate one or merely a college within 
the organization of the state university matters 
little. In either case the young man will be brought 
within reach of a course in scientific farming, stock 
raising, horticulture, and the like, either to choose 
or let alone — and the so-called cultural work will 
still be there for the taking. 

The foundation in work 

Many rural parents, weighted down with the over- 
work of the farm, cherish and express a very earnest 
desire that their sons may find some easier form of 
earning a living. So they deliberately plan with 
the boy the "easy" course to be pursued. Said 
one such farmer : " Wife and I decided that there 
would not be much in it for Henry except hard work 
if he settled down on the home place, so we decided 
to send him to college and educate him for something 
that offered less work and more pay." So they 
shielded the son from the heavier duties of the farm 
and encouraged in every way the boy's thought of 
an easy way to success. 

But one thing these well-meaning parents failed 
to foresee. That is, when the boy entered college, he 
began to look for that same sort of royal road to 
learning. The assigned lessons and tasks soon took 
the appearance of drudgery and he dodged and 
avoided them wherever possible. In less than a year 
the youth had failed at college and was back home. 



Hard Work Fundamental 285 

"The confinement of the college did not agree with 
his health." More than three years have passed 
since, and the boy has spent the time drifting from 
one "job" to another and all the while growing 
weaker in character and integrity. 

Here we have but another instance of the old, old 
story, with its tragic aspects. Yet, nearly all the 
faltering, vacillating men now drifting about the 
country might have been saved through careful train- 
ing in the performance of work. The boy who would 
be insured success in his coming vocation must be 
required to buckle down to solid work of a kind 
and amount to suit his years and strength. He must 
learn through the character-building experience of 
toil, not only what it means to stay by an assigned 
duty till it is performed, but he must also experience 
the unfailing joy of work well done. He will thus 
have the advantage of the spur of successful effort and 
acquire the beginnings of that splendid self-reliance 
which is a distinguishing mark of all successful men. 

Clean up the place 

But there is a sort of drudgery and of ugliness 
against which the boy's nature instinctively rebels, 
and it ought to. By this we mean to refer to the 
actual conditions of over- work and the accompanying 
run-down appearance that characterizes so many 
farm homes to-day. No wonder the boys hasten 
away to the city to find a "job." 



286 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 

Why not clean up the place by cutting away the 
underbrush and weeds, by planting shade trees 
and repairing fences and out buildings, by painting 
and renovating the house and barn ? — and all 
this as an investment in behalf of the children and 
their possible future interest in the farm home as 
the best place on earth in which to dwell ? All 
this and more might be urged as means of guiding the 
thoughts of the farm boy towards the possibilities 
of his taking up the calling of his father. And 
while all these material advantages may not serve to 
overcome the natural tendency of the young man to 
seek a radically different type of occupation, they 
will at least make it more certain that his natural 
abilities for an agricultural pursuit were not left 
unawakened. 

Money value of an agricultural education 

The College of Agriculture in Cornell University 
some time ago made an inquiry into the educational 
status of the farmers in a certain county of New 
York. It was found that out of 573 farmers, 398 
had not advanced farther than the district school, 
165 had attended high school one or more years, 
and 10 had received a college education. The 398 
who had attended district school only were receiving 
yearly for their labor $318; the 165 farmers of high 
school education were receiving annually $622; 
and the 10 who had attended college one or more 



Assurance of Success 287 

years were receiving an average of $847 income for 
their services. 

The foregoing investigation is at least suggestive 
in its results. It tends to prove that there is an 
actual earning-capacity value in the higher agricul- 
tural education. While the matter has never been 
extensively studied, it can doubtless be shown that 
the graduates of the agricultural course are receiving 
much larger incomes than any of the classes named 
above. In addition it can doubtless be shown that 
these graduates are better equipped, not only for 
earning a livelihood, but for substantial citizenship. 
Of course there are many notable exceptions to this 
rule, but the rule is, nevertheless, general. 

Now, if the farm parent wishes to figure his boy's 
future on the basis of money-earning capacity, he can 
easily be shown that the higher schooling in the 
average case increases such capacity. In addition 
there is abundant evidence of the fact that the 
higher schooling gives the young man a much 
better equipment for serving the society in which 
he is to live. 

A SUCCESSFUL VOCATION CERTAIN 

Finally, it may be said that the successful vocational 
life of the ordinary country-bred boy may be guaran- 
teed as practically certain, provided he have every 
ordinary advantage of development and training 
of which he is capable. Train him early in lessons of 



288 The Farm Boy's Choice of a Vocation 

obedience and work; make his life more wholesome 
through ample play and recreation; see that he 
learns how to earn money and how to save a part 
of his earnings; provide that he attend the public 
school regularly until at least the grammar grades 
be finished ; give him an opportunity to become per- 
sonally interested in the business side of the farm 
life ; allow him opportunities to mingle with the 
cleanest possible society of his own age ; and then 
await patiently his own inner promptings as to what 
line of work he should take up. A college course 
may prove necessary in order to help him uncover 
deeper and better levels that lie hidden in his nature. 
Then, after he has chosen a calling in this careful 
and reliable way, with all your might, mind, and 
soul encourage and support him in his efforts ! This 
is practically the only way to make a big, efficient 
man and citizen of your boy and to make his calling 
a divine calling. 

REFERENCES 

Vocational Education. Published bi-monthly. $1.50 per year. The 
Manual Arts Press, Peoria, 111. 

Vocational Education. John M. Gillette. Chapter VI, "Importance 
of the Economic Interest in Society." American Book Company. 

Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter II, 
"Vocational Chaos and its Consequences." Houghton, Mifflin 
Company. The entire volume is most timely and helpful. 

The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D. Hough- 
ton, Mifflin Company. 

New Type of Rural School House. W. H. Jenkins. Craftsman, May, 
1911. 



References 289 

Vocational Direction, or The Boy and his Job. Annals American Acad- 
emy, March, 1910. 

Education for a Vocation. President's address before the N.E.A. 
Annual Volume, 1908, p. 56. 

Vocational Direction. E. W. Lord. Annals Academy of Political and 
Social Science (Philadelphia), March, 1910. 

Social Phase of Education. Samuel T. Dutten. Page 143, "The Rela- 
tion of Education to Vocation." Macmillan. The entire book is 
sound and sane. 

Income of College Graduates Ten Years after Graduation. H. A. Miller. 
Science, Feb. 4, 1910. 

Occupations of College Graduates as Influenced by the Undergraduate 
Course. F. P. Keppel. Educational Review, December, 1910. 

Assisting the Boy in the Choice of a Vocation. Pamphlet. Wm. A. 
McKeever. Manhattan, Kan. 



CHAPTER XIX 

THE FARM GIRL'S PREPARATION FOR A 
VOCATION 

What, may we ask, are rural parents doing in 
regard to the careful preparation of their growing 
daughters for the vocational life ? The author has 
frequently asserted that many a farmer is to-day 
giving vastly more thought to the question of prepar- 
ing his live stock for the money market than to 
preparing his girls for their life work. The serious- 
ness, the well-nigh cruelty, of this situation becomes 
apparent only when we inquire into the facts. How 
long must this carelessness continue ? How long will 
farmers remain indifferent to the tremendous re- 
sponsibility of giving their children every possible 
aid in the direction of a high and worthy occupation? 
Their chief concern continues to be centered too 
exclusively upon the cattle and the hogs and the corn. 
Are the boys and girls to be left to shift for them- 
selves ? And are they to continue to have their 
careers determined by mere chance and incident ? 

What is the outlook 

So, if the country father having a young family 
were here before us, we should ask him : What is the 

290 



Plate XXX. 




2 3 



The Daughter's Marriage 291 

outlook in regard to a happy future for your growing 
daughter ? Do you want her to take her place among 
the men and be forced to do some sort of man's work 
in order to obtain her bread? or, do you earnestly 
desire that she find some sort of worthy woman's 
work ? And if the latter be your choice, what help- 
ful agencies are you bringing to bear upon the situa- 
tion ? In the midst of all your consideration of these 
matters touching your daughter, we should have you 
most earnestly and prayerfully consider at least one 
thing; namely, with few possible exceptions, the 
healthy, growing girl looks forward instinctively to 
the time when she is to become mistress of a house- 
hold of her own. And in every case, if the girl fails 
to become such a mistress, there is only one reason- 
able alternative to be thought of and that is to 
provide that she engage in some sort of work which 
will give expression in the largest possible measure to 
that which is best and truest in her feminine nature. 
Ordinarily, in planning for the future of their 
daughter, parents might as well consider the prob- 
lem as having a two-fold aspect. Assuming first 
of all that the girl instinctively desires to preside 
over a home of her own, how can she best be pre- 
pared for that place ? Second, in case that, by some 
miscarriage of plans, she fails to reach this most 
worthy ambition, what may she safely fall back 
upon as an adequate means of self-support ? Now, 
if this statement of the matter be a correct one, it 



292 The Farm Girl's Preparation for a Vocation 

seems that the general scope of the problem of 
preparing a girl for her vocation ought to be fairly 
clear. Still another way of putting the situation 
is this : The girl must be carefully prepared, not only 
for her first choice of an occupation, but also for her 
second choice, because of grave danger of the failure 
of her first choice to be realized. 

There is a perplexing aspect of the whole question 
implied here, and every parent who has a daughter 
should become aware of it and also prepared to 
confront it. That is to say, almost any ordinary 
man may go out into the open market and push his 
quest for a life companion and be able to return 
in the course of a very short period with one at his 
side. But with the girl it is radically different. 
Practically her only stock-in-trade consists of her 
personal charm and her pecuniary advantages. 
And many a young woman with both of these 
qualities very strongly in her favor fails, by some 
chance or other, to receive an acceptable offer of 
marriage. Statistics widely gathered will show that 
age is also a very positive factor in this matter, and 
that the ratio of probability of marriage of a single 
woman begins to fall very rapidly before she reaches 
thirty. 

Desirable occupations for women 

While there is abundant evidence to prove that 
the great majority of normal young women desire 



Occupations for Women 293 

instinctively and above all things else a happy 
marriage, including a contented home life and 
children to care for, some alternatives must be now 
pointed out in case of failure to realize the highest 
ambition. 

1. May teach the young. — School teaching is 
perhaps the most common, as well as the most 
commendable, occupation for unmarried women. 
In many a case, the farmer's daughter will find it 
greatly to her advantage to engage in this occu- 
pation for one or more terms. Thousands of the 
most worthy young women in our land are devoting 
their lives to this highest of secondary vocations 
for women. The work of teaching gives exercise 
to the altruistic feminine nature and approaches in 
a fair degree the satisfaction which comes to the 
mother who is sacrificing for children of her own. 

But school teaching wears heavily on the vitality 
of nearly all young women who follow it long. 
Diseases peculiar to the sex are said to be very prev- 
alent among such teachers, probably resulting from 
an excessive amount of standing. Tens of thousands 
of girls are going from the farm home to the school 
room, some of them to remain permanently in the 
business, but the majority to earn money of their 
own and to place themselves in better position for 
successful marriage. So, perhaps the first duty of the 
country parents to the daughter who takes up school 
teaching is to see that the latter's health be not 



294 The Farm GirVs Preparation for a Vocation 

seriously impaired thereby. After that, the young 
woman's proper advancement in the profession may 
be thought of. The ungraded district school is 
an excellent trying-out and testing position for the 
young teacher. But if she continues many terms 
in the school room, graded work will prove more 
advantageous, especially in the important matter 
of bringing the young woman into the company of 
marriageable young men. 

2. May take up stenography. — A vast army of 
young women now support themselves with the use 
of the type-writer. This work pays slightly more 
the year round than school teaching. It is somewhat 
more confining ; but, for various other reasons, it is 
less deleterious to the general health. Such office 
business, however, subjects the young woman to 
many temptations. It is the opinion of the author 
that stenography is not at all a desirable occupation 
for the farmer's daughter to enter. The continued 
absence from home, the constant association with 
people differing radically in tastes and manners from 
the rural population, not to mention again the many 
temptations to accept lower moral standards — 
these and other matters will tend to estrange the 
farm daughter from her parents and to make them 
feel that something of the former charm of sweet 
simplicity and home affection has passed perma- 
nently out of her life. 

One thing at least is to be considered before the 



Altruistic Work for the Girl 295 

daughter be permitted to leave the country home for 
an office position. That is, the work is not to be 
considered as permanent, but rather as a possible 
means of preparing for marriage and the contented 
home life that should follow. 

3. May do social work. — Next to the work of 
teaching, perhaps the social-service work now being 
developed and carried on in the cities would make 
its appeal to the true-hearted young woman. Here 
again we have a sort of task that dips into the 
affections and sympathies of the worker and furnishes 
an opportunity for her to give freely out of the 
best she has in her make-up. Among the fortunate 
considerations of teaching and social work are the 
opportunities they offer for the sympathetic care 
and guidance of children — the indulgence of altruism 
and the mother instinct in the young woman. 
Parents will observe as a rule that their daughter 
returns from such occupations as these with in- 
creased affections for the home family and the home 
life and a broader and more general interest in people. 

In recent years there has developed a new and re- 
markably promising field of social work for both 
young men and young women. Charitable, philan- 
thropic, and other social-welfare institutions have 
been greatly multiplied, while their work has been 
put on a scientific basis. The modern method of 
securing employees in such places is that of calling 
persons especially trained and fitted to do the work 



296 The Farm Girl's Preparation for a Vocation 

required, and to pay reasonably for the service. 
Several new, first-class schools and institutions for 
training workers in this human field have been re- 
cently organized. 

Now, if country parents become anxious to have 
their daughter go away to the city and find desirable 
employment and that at living wages, the author 
recommends this new line of social work most highly. 
For reasons given above, and for others, it will 
prove an excellent stepping-stone to the home life — 
the work is in the general field of human betterment 
so inviting to the natural instincts of the well-reared 
young woman; the associates are persons likewise 
interested in human welfare and ranking high in 
moral and religious character; the required work is 
usually of a nature to awaken the deepest sympathies 
and affections and to make the countenance of the 
worker shine with a new spiritual light. 

4. May secure clerkships. — Clerking and general 
store work is much followed by young women to-day, 
but such work may be put down in the list of hazard- 
ous occupations for women of any age. Close eco- 
nomic conditions in the cities force many thousands of 
girls to leave home and seek clerkships at a wage so 
low as indirectly to undermine the health and more 
directly to impair the morals. Great armies of these 
girls are compelled to live in dingy, cramped quarters, 
to subsist on much less than the quantity of whole- 
some food necessary for good health, to practice the 



Clerking not Desirable 297 

strictest economy in matters of dress — to say noth- 
ing of the constant temptation to sell their virtue as 
a means of increasing the small income to the living 
margin. 

Only in extreme cases, therefore, will intelligent 
farm parents consent to their daughter's leaving home 
to take up a clerkship, and that when her home life 
and her social surroundings can be satisfactorily 
foreseen and arranged for in advance. Even then, 
the question must be raised : Will this new position 
probably prove helpful as an introduction to a better 
form of occupation ? 

No other possible occupations for the farmer's 
daughter will be listed here excepting that of trained 
nurse — a position in which many young women are 
doing a splendid service for humanity and at the 
same time supporting themselves adequately. But 
of course such a position should not be thought of 
unless the girl feels an inner call to take it up. Prac- 
tically all other outside lines of work for women are 
too masculine. Parents should by no means allow 
their daughters to take up a life task that means 
nothing other than mere money-making. Many 
women, it is true, are succeeding to-day in business 
callings, but they are doing so as a rule in violation of 
certain laws of nature. Many of these business 
women are masculine in their dispositions and they 
become more so as the unnatural calling continues to 
be pursued. 



298 The Farm GirVs Preparation for a Vocation 

A COLLEGE COURSE FOR THE GIRL 

At first thought it would seem that ability to pre- 
pare a good meal and to do her own sewing might 
constitute all the education in household economy 
necessary for any young woman. But such proves 
not to be the case. There are hundreds of home- 
making problems, great and small, for which mere 
knowledge of the two important affairs just named 
will provide no answer. While the ability to cook 
and sew well are doubtless essential characteristics 
of the good housekeeper, they are not at all a guar- 
antee that their possessor is a good home maker. 

Parents must learn to take the larger and more 
liberal view of the future of their children. Not 
merely practice in the culinary art, but also a de- 
veloped and refined personality; not merely indus- 
trial efficiency, but also constructive ability of a 
social nature ; not merely mechanical skill in man- 
aging the details of housework, but a set of well- 
matured, effective plans for making the home over 
which she presides a place of joy and contentment 
for the other members of the family — these are 
some of the evidences of character which the wise, 
far-seeing parent might well desire for his daughter. 
Now, it is the thesis of this chapter that the normal 
woman is at her best only when she has become mis- 
tress of her own well-managed household. But such 
an exalted position can scarcely be reached except 
through a broad, general course of preparation. 



The Culture Subjects 299 

The one-sided, classical college training has spoiled 
for life many otherwise good and happy women. 
Such a course tends strongly to draw the mind and 
the affections of the young woman away from the 
home and from motherhood and other such matters 
so fundamental to the well-being of the race. But in 
seeking for an ideal school for the daughter the farmer 
will find unsurpassed that institution which offers 
extensive courses in household art and management, 
supplemented fully with work in the so-called culture 
subjects — language, literature, history, sociology, 
psychology, and economics. This work constitutes 
what might be called a balanced schedule of instruc- 
tion for the young woman. If pursued to its con- 
clusion, such a course of training enriches her per- 
sonality and multiplies her opportunities for future 
usefulness many fold. 

Associations with refined young men 

If the young woman's preparation for her life work 
be satisfactory to all, she must have extensive expe- 
rience in the society of young men such as only the 
co-educational college can give. As her position in 
the rural home has been already too much isolated, 
an exclusive women's college is least to be desired as 
a place to educate the country girl. But the domes- 
tic science course in a state university or a state agri- 
cultural college will be found almost ideal. Here the 
girl may be held to a reasonable performance of her 



300 The Farm GirVs Preparation for a Vocation 

assigned duties, while at the same time she may 
mingle freely in the society of both sexes. 

Indeed, if the thesis of this chapter be a sound and 
tenable one, — namely, that normally woman's high- 
est satisfaction is to be sought through helping her 
attain efficient home life, — then, there is every reason 
for agreeing with the late Professor James in his 
contention that every young woman ought to be 
taught how to know a good man. It is distinctively 
the business of the young college woman, not only to 
prepare well all her lessons in household economy 
and the literary subjects, but also to keep her eye 
out for a suitable life companion. And her father 
should be made to realize that her opportunities for 
marrying a man of high worth and ability are in- 
creased many fold through the completion of a course 
in the ideal form of co-educational college. 

Marriages among college mates are usually most 
successful, both in the final establishment of sub- 
stantial home life and in point of resulting in a rea- 
sonable number of well-reared children. Statistics 
gathered widely show that the young woman college 
graduate marries somewhat later than her non- 
attending sister, that she has slightly better health, 
that her children are somewhat fewer, but better 

reared. 

Make the daughter attractive 

It may therefore be urged upon all rural parents, 
as a cold business proposition, as well as a duty, that 



Plate XXXI. 




Make the Daughter Attractive 301 

they take every reasonable precaution to develop in 
their growing daughters both an attractive personal- 
ity and a beauty of the inner character, whether she 
be so fortunate as to attend a good college or not.' 
All this must be done with a thought of rendering 
the daughter as attractive as possible in respect to 
any worthy young man who may in time seek her 
heart and hand in marriage. It is time for parents 
to cease passing this thing by as a mere piece of sen- 
timentalism and to begin to do the fair thing by 
their girls. Why should it longer come to pass in 
this enlightened age that some parents break down 
the physical health of their girls with the burden of 
over-work and thus consign them to a life of moping 
and bitter disappointment for the future ; that other 
parents indulge their girls in the giddy, butterfly 
type of life and thus blight their prospects of a sub- 
stantial and satisfactory place in human society ? 

Summary and conclusion 

In summarizing and concluding this chapter we 
wish to remind the reader of what has been said in 
the preceding ones. There are a number of distinc- 
tive elements that must be carefully wrought into 
the character of the farmer's daughter with a view to 
laying a substantial foundation for her future career. 

1. First of all, the girl's health must be kept in 
mind. She must not have an overburden of work 
heaped upon her delicate shoulders, nor must she be 



302 The Farm Girl's Preparation for a Vocation 

allowed to expose herself unnecessarily to the inclem- 
encies of the weather so common in the ordinary 
rural districts. There are many women moping 
about to-day, ill and despondent much of the time 
because of the negligence of parents who permitted 
them when growing girls to wade about through mud 
and slush and thus impair permanently their physical 
well-being. Many of the minor ailments of mature 
life recur habitually, and that because they were 
permitted to be acquired when the organism was 
young and sensitive. 

2. The daughter must be taught how to carry on 
practically all the necessary details of the housework. 
The plain cooking and sewing and the general care 
of the home must be required as duties on the part 
of every promising girl. It is especially obligatory 
on the part of rural parents that they train the daugh- 
ter in such a way as to make her a true mistress of 
the household over which she may sometime pre- 
side. She must learn through specific guidance how 
to subordinate the heavy home tasks to her spiritual 
well-being. 

3. It is also essential that the girl learn how to 
manage the business affairs of the home; espe- 
cially, how to purchase the supplies of the kitchen and 
the larder in the most economic fashion. She must 
also learn both how to secure her own personal be- 
longings at a reasonable cost and how to make them 
serve her real needs without unnecessary expenditure 



The Daughter to Understand Men 303 

of money. It will be a great achievement in her be- 
half if the girl approach her marriage day thoroughly 
imbued with the thought of cooperating with her hus- 
band in the general business of maintaining a home. 

4. We would remind the reader again of the neces- 
sity of giving attention to the development of an 
attractive personality in the growing girl. Pleasing 
manners, refined expressions, neat and attractive 
apparel, kindliness and sympathy, frankness and 
straightforwardness — all these should enter into 
her make-up and be thought of as parts of her per- 
manent character. They will also go far toward 
winning to her side a suitable life companion. 

5. The young girl on the farm should have much 
advice in respect to the nature and character of men. 
This will be achieved partly through her well-ordered 
social life and partly through specific talks from 
thoughtful parents. Country girls are probably 
less informed in respect to the natures of men than 
are city girls. Many beautiful and innocent young 
women are led astray either before or after marriage 
by evil and designing men; many of them consum- 
mate marriages with men who have an outer appear- 
ance of trustworthiness, but who harbor within some 
most serious and insurmountable evil and disease. 
Although she may not for a time be conscious of 
what her parents are doing, the latter should be for 
years purposely engaged in preparing their daughter 
to know at sight a good man. 



304 The Farm GirVs Preparation for a Vocation 

Finally, it may be said that there is no greater 
charm or thing of more superior beauty in this good 
world of ours than the character of a woman who, has 
been well-born and well-reared, and who has been 
safely guided into the home of her own wherein she 
reigns as mistress supreme. In this ideal home the 
love and sympathy and the kindly deeds of the true 
home-maker will reveal themselves permanently in 
the lives of her children and her husband and the 
many others who come into contact with her con- 
structive personality. 

REFERENCES 

Women's Ways of Earning Money. Cynthia Westover Alden. A. S. 

Barnes & Co. 
The Home Builder. Dr. Lyman Abbott. Houghton, Mifflin Company. 

Sympathetic and cheering. 
Almost a Woman. Mary Wood Allen, M.D. Crist, Scott & Parshall, 

Coopertown, N.Y. A plain talk to the young woman about her 

sex nature. 
The Problem of Vocational Education. David Snedden, Ph.D. Chapter 

XII, "The Problem of Women in Industry." Houghton, Mifflin 

Company. 
The Vocational Guidance of Youth. Meyer Bloomfield. Chapter I, 

"The Choice of Life Work and its Difficulties." Houghton, Mifflin 

Company. 
Parenthood and Race Culture. Charles W. Saleeby M.D. Chapter X, 

"Marriage and Maternalism." Moffat, Yard & Co., New York. 
Should Women work for their Living? M. Yates. Westminster 

Review, October, 1910. 
Social Diseases and Marriage. Educational Pamphlet, No. 3. Amer- 
ican Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, New York. 10 

cents. Every parent should read this booklet 



Literature on Women's Vocations 305 

Vocational Training for Girls. Isabelle McGlaufin. Education, April, 
1911. 

A Healthy Race; Woman's Vocation. C. M. Hill. Westminster Re- 
view, January, 1910. 

Social Adjustment. S. Nearing. Pages 128-148, "Dependence of 
Women." Macmillan. 

Purposes of Women. F. W. Saleeby, M.D. Forum, January, 1911. 

Does the College rob the Cradle? H. Boice. Delineator, March, 1911. 

The College Woman as a Home Maker. M. E. Wooley. Ladies' Home 
Journal, Oct. 1, 1910. 

The American Woman and her Home. Symposium. Outlook, April 17, 
1910. 

Teaching the Girl to Save. Home-Training Bulletin No. 7. 2 cents. 
Wm. A. McKeever, Manhattan, Kan. 



CHAPTER XX 

CONCLUSION, AND FUTURE OUTLOOK 

In concluding this volume we wish again to remind 
parents of the necessity of working for specific results 
in the rearing of their children. Modern man, unlike 
his ancestor, who roamed over the earth, is a creature 
of complex and highly refined make-up which no 
primitive or natural environment could possibly 
produce. The forces that work upon his character 
development are so radically different from those 
which formed the life of his remote forbears as pos- 
sibly to account for the contrasts in the two forms 
of finished personality. 

Although there is evidence to support the theory 
that man belongs to the general evolutionary scheme 
of animal life, the progress of the race has been so 
very slow that a thousand years of time can show no 
very distinct improvement either in physical form or 
mental quality. While the human young is exceed- 
ingly plastic as an individual, — yielding easily from 
one side of his inherent activities to another, — the 
race is relatively fixed and stable. 

Strive for preconceived results 

Parents and other instructors of the young must 
therefore accept their charges as made up of very com- 

306 



A Plan of Character Building 307 

plex potentialities of learning and achievement — 
each a bundle of latent characters transmitted to 
him from the ancestral line. Many of these inherited 
characters are too weak in any given individual ever 
to show in his life conduct; many others will come 
to the surface only in response to proper stimuli and 
practice ; still others will break out and show a pre- 
dominance almost in defiance of any training in- 
tended to counteract them. 

But the teacher and trainer of the infant child may 
accept the theory that the latter, if taken in time, can 
be bent and modified many ways in his character 
formation; that such plasticity is, however, always 
subject to the relative strength or weakness of the 
many inherited aptitudes and activities latent within 
the individual. 

There is no good reason, therefore, why the parent 
should not begin early to build up the character of 
his child in accordance with a preconceived plan; 
provided such plan do no violence to any of nature's 
stubborn and inexorable laws. The parent may also 
accept this task as a long and tedious undertaking, 
and expect to get results in proportion as he works 
intelligently for them. The farmer does not even 
think of producing good crop results from his land 
without hard work and much thought; then, why 
should he expect so delicate a plant as the human 
young to reach satisfactory maturity without much 
care and consideration ? By far the greatest sin 
against the child is neglect of his training. 



308 Conclusion, and Future Outlook 

Consult expert advice 

We must not be unmindful of the necessity of a 
balanced schedule of activities for the child. The 
vegetable plant must have air, sunlight, moisture, 
nitrogen, and so on, to support its growth. If one 
of these essential elements be lacking, the result is 
fatal to the fruitage. So with the child. If the best 
character results are to be expected, certain essential 
elements must be put into use. We have named 
them as play, work, recreation, and social experience. 
But as one approaches the individual problem of child 
training it does not prove so simple and easy as these 
terms imply. When and how to give each of these 
necessary exercises, how much of each to furnish, 
the means thereof, and the like — these and many 
other such questions begin to arise. 

When the parent reaches the point of perplexity in 
dealing with his child, it is a fairly good indication 
that his interest is aroused, at least. But what is to 
be done ? Simply the same thing he would do at the 
point of perplexity in the wheat propagation, consult 
an expert. If one of the work mules becomes lame or 
reveals a bad disposition, should the owner take it to 
an electrician for advice ? If the family cow becomes 
locoed or shows an unusual result in her milk product, 
should one consult a piano tuner ? Yet, strange to 
say, parents are often known to do similarly in deal- 
ing with the perplexing problems of child-rearing. 



Studying the Child 309 

Consult the popular magazines and the book shelves 
any day and you will find many lengthy dissertations 
on the boy and the girl, written not infrequently by 
persons who have spent a lifetime studying something 
else. But they are very fond of children and they 
mistake this fondness for knowledge of an expert 
kind ; and worst of all, they offer it as such. 

The farm parents who wish to receive expert advice 
in the treatment of their children must learn to con- 
sult directly or through literature only those who 
have made a long and intensive study of child prob- 
lems. And in the latter case they need not expect 
to obtain all necessary help from one source alone. 
Usually the child-study expert is a specialist in only 
one certain part of the field. For example, at the 
University of Pennsylvania under Dr. Lightner Wit- 
mer, there has been made a specialty of the sub- 
normal child. We should probably obtain from that 
source more expert help in that one phase of child 
welfare than from any other source in America. If 
one wishes reliable help on the subject of diseases of 
children, he should naturally expect to obtain it from 
some medical authority, from one who has spent long 
years practicing in a general hospital for children. 
One of the very few great sources of information on 
the general psychology of child development is Clark 
University, where many child-welfare problems have 
been worked out by experts under the able direction 
of Dr. G. Stanley Hall. 



310 Conclusion, and Future Outlook 

Meet each awakening interest 

A very reliable general rule of guidance for the 
parent child trainer is to strive to furnish intensive 
practice for each and every childish and juvenile 
interest at the time of its awakening. As stated in 
Chapter II the most predominant interests in the 
young emerge in response to the unfoldment of in- 
stincts and the development of organic growths 
within. Perhaps all do so. But the point of im- 
portance for the parent is to meet each of these awak- 
enings at the time of its highest activity with inten- 
sive training. The instinct to play, to fight, to steal, 
to run away, to work (?), to fall in love, to engage 
in some occupation, to marry and make a home, to 
have children — these have been named as espe- 
cially important by virtue of their awakening suc- 
cessively the individual's interests in matters of great 
consequence to character development. 

But instincts are blind. Their possessor does not 
foresee the way they point. They come suddenly 
and catch the subject unprepared to direct their force 
in what we call intelligent ways. Hence, the extreme 
necessity of there being present at the side of the 
child, at the time of his instinctive awakening, some 
mature and intelligent person who has been through 
the experiences the former is about to begin, and who 
will sympathetically point the right way and insist 
that it be followed. 



Learning from the Children 311 

Work for social democracy 

One can scarcely become deeply interested in the 
future of his own child without coming intimately 
into touch with the child welfare problems at large. 
Even country parents, isolated though they may be, 
will discover that serious study of the matter of 
bringing up a family of good children will require 
that they study the lives of other human young. 
Moreover, they will need the use of other children as 
"laboratory" material for training their own. All 
this will gradually lead the way to a fuller social 
sympathy in such parents and to the inculcation of 
more wholesome social ideals in the minds of their 
offspring. 

Finally, the rural parents who are seeking a full 
and adequate development of the young members of 
their own family will most probably see their way 
clear to assume a helpful leadership of the young 
people of the neighborhood as advocated in Chap- 
ter X of this volume. 

While many agencies for the betterment of rural 
youth have been discussed, — such as the County 
Y.M.C.A., the Boy Scout Movement, and the Social 
and Economic Clubs, — the neighborhood which has 
at least one of these agencies intensively at work may 
be considered fortunate. And it may be said that 
such a neighborhood is well on the way to economic 
improvement as well as social improvement. 



312 Conclusion, and Future Outlook 

The outlook very promising 

Throughout the United States there is being mani- 
fested a general tendency to accept the theory that 
our human stock is relatively sound. While there 
are seemingly large numbers of the criminal, delin- 
quent, and dependent classes, they are in reality 
comparatively few in proportion to the entire popu- 
lation. And when we accept the estimate of the 
experts that about ninety per cent of the cases included 
in the classes just named are preventable through 
wise foresight and training, the outlook for a better 
race of human beings becomes most cheering. 

"The proper study of mankind is man," says the 
poet. But for many generations we have regarded 
this statement as mere poetry and not necessarily 
truth. Our policy up to the recent past has been 
rather this : The proper study of mankind is every- 
thing except man, leaving the all-important problems 
of child-rearing to the decisions of wise old grand- 
mothers and debating societies. But a radical change 
has come, and that within this present generation. 
Men and women highly trained in the colleges and 
universities are now applying their scientific methods 
to the study of man with no less zeal and earnestness 
than that which has characterized the student of the 
non-human problems for many generations of time. 

Through the able conclusions of the painstaking 
expert the so-called institutional life has been espe- 



Plate XXXII. 




Fig. 39. — Sowing tl 



yself. 




Fig. 40. — Thinning the vegetables. 
New York Scenes. 



Institutional Life Improving 313 

cially improved. The industrial (reform) schools are 
now practicing a system of balanced activities — of 
study, work, play, and the like — such as the findings 
of these investigators have warranted. The method 
of paroling the delinquent child, after he has spent 
a term of preparation, was proved most helpful 
through the careful tests of a large number of cases. 
Recently the parole system has been effectively 
applied to certain classes of penitentiary convicts. A 
most productive agency for good now in use in many 
of the prisons and all the industrial schools is that of 
building up the waste places in the individual life 
through specific training and instruction. The first 
question raised in such cases is, What is the particu- 
lar moral defect of the individual ? second, What 
are the causes ? third, What will reconstruct his 
character and give permanent relief ? That is, the 
expert psychologist and the expert sociologist are 
being called into service with the expert alienist 
and physician. The purpose is to save and recon- 
struct the whole man. Compulsory education and 
trade schooling are now very common in state prisons. 
In the care and protection of the insane and the 
feeble-minded our country can boast of but slow 
progress. Many of the members of these classes are 
permitted to run at large and even to marry and beget 
their kind. Now, while our human stock is in its 
mass very sound and sane, there are constantly being 
thrown off from it these mentally defective classes. 



314 Conclusion, and Future Outlook 

The complete obliteration of all such classes to-day 
would not result in their complete disappearance from 
the race. Others would be born as variants from 
normal parentage. But the evil of it all lies in the 
fact that we are still permitting many of these de- 
fectives to multiply, and that in the face of the fact 
that a normal child has never been reported among 
the offspring of two feeble-minded parents. 

The modern service training 

Of all the institutions contributing to the direct 
improvement of the race there is perhaps none 
surpassing in importance the modern training school 
for social workers. In New York, Chicago, Phila- 
delphia, St. Louis, and other large cities such may be 
found usually affiliated with some university or col- 
lege. The general purpose is that of training men and 
women to go into the field of social service and apply 
the methods and conclusions worked out by the re- 
search student. Hitherto, much of the social work 
has been conducted by persons possessing merely 
religious zeal and enthusiasm. Their efforts were 
praiseworthy, but they lacked the training necessary 
for coping with modern educational and economic 
problems. The distinctive feature of the new meth- 
ods is that it is based on scientific and business prin- 
ciples. That is, the social worker is trained in the 
same methodical way as the prospective lawyer or 
school teacher, and is also paid reasonably for his 
services. 



Problems for the Investigator 315 

The modern social worker not only proceeds with a 
well-defined plan, but he usually makes or requires a 
survey of his newly-opened field. The social sur- 
vey — now becoming more common as a means of 
beginning a campaign of improvement in the cities — 
has revealed some most interesting, as well as dis- 
tressing, situations in the submerged districts. The 
housing situation, sanitary conditions, wages and 
incomes of different classes, sweat-shop employment, 
the protection of workmen in shops and factories, 
child-labor conditions, and so on — these are exam- 
ples of the problems of the investigator, while his 
tabulated reports serve to guide the social worker. 
Now, the duties of the latter are many, but in general 
they lie in the direction of improvement of the condi- 
tions as found. Among the undertakings that often 
fall to his lot are : establishing new social centers in 
congested districts, providing for new parks and play- 
grounds, locating reading and recreation rooms, 
organizing self-help and home-improvement clubs 
among the lower classes, conducting cooking and 
sewing schools, and the like. 

Of special interest to the rural dweller is the fact 
that the modern methods of first making surveys 
and then applying remedial agencies is now being 
extended into the country districts, giving many 
marked results already and promising greater ones 
for the future. 



316 Conclusion, and Future Outlook 

The state doing its part 

That the nation and the state are active partici- 
pants in these new forms of child-conserving and 
man-saving endeavor is indicated on every side. 

The national government has encouraged the states 
in the enactment of stringent child-labor laws. In 
the usual instance children under fourteen to sixteen 
years of age are prohibited from working away from 
home at gainful occupations. Correlated with this 
is the compulsory-education law in the several states. 

The national and state governments have also 
cooperated in the enactment of laws prohibiting the 
adulteration of foods and foodstuffs and in enforcing 
better sanitation. As a result of such measures, state 
and local, together with the help of greatly improved 
hospital practice, the infant mortality in several of 
the large cities has been reduced more than fifty 
per cent in the past decade. 

Inspired by the splendid pioneer work of the 
National Playground Association, the cities and towns 
have recently made very rapid progress in the es- 
tablishment of playgrounds and recreative centers for 
old and young. Many millions of dollars have al- 
ready been expended for such purposes. Now the 
country districts are adopting the same means of 
social improvement. 

The primary system of selecting candidates for 
political office is proving to be a most potent agency 



Lessons on Social Purity 317 

for the general uplift. By means of it, better men 
are being inducted into office. Better still, the old 
corrupt practice of the ward politician, so deleterious 
to the character of youth, is losing its once powerful 
influence on government. 

The so-called social evil, so damaging to the health 
and morals of thousands of our best young men and 
young women, is now under fair promise of improve- 
ment. The remarkable survey of the Chicago Vice 
Commission and the work of the other well-planned 
organizations looking to the solution of the same 
general problem have proved most effective in reveal- 
ing the true conditions and of awakening the public 
conscience. All of these activities in the interest of 
putting down the sex evils point very clearly one 
moral to all conscientious parents ; namely, that the 
best and most certain method of inculcating lessons 
of purity in the case of the young is through preven- 
tive measures, and through the practice of purity 
during the years of growth. Open and frank discus- 
sion of the sex problems as they arise normally out 
of the experiences of the child, admonitions and pro- 
hibitions in regard to impure associates, the insistence 
upon a single, and not a double, standard of purity 
for the two sexes — these are some of the specific 
duties of parents. 

As an instance of what may be achieved by way of 
helping the weak and depraved to defend themselves 
against debasing habit, and especially of what may be 



318 Conclusion, and Future Outlook 

done by way of prevention of a character-destroying 
habit in time of youth, the Kansas prohibitory law is 
cited. The longer this statute remains, the more 
effective its work and the more unanimous the public 
sentiment supporting it. So popular has this meas- 
ure become that no political party and no faction of 
any other class has been able to take any effective 
stand against it. It can be shown to any fair-minded 
investigator that the great majority of the citizens 
of Kansas are total abstainers from the use of in- 
toxicants ; also that the state has brought up a new 
generation of tens of thousands of men, now mostly 
voters, who have no personal knowledge of the use 
and abuse of alcoholic drinks and who have become 
confirmed as total abstainers for life. 

Another unique Kansas measure — ignored and 
derided at first only less than was the prohibitory 
liquor law when new — is the statute forbidding the 
use of tobacco in any form on the part of minors. 
The wisdom of this statute is supported by the con- 
clusions of scientific study of the effects of tobacco 
on the young. The general purpose of the law is to 
prevent the youth from taking up the tobacco-using 
habit before reaching full maturity of years and 
judgment. The general result will be the gradual 
development of a generation of total abstainers from 
the use of tobacco. 



Constructive Social Work 319 

The new era of religion 

Even into the sanctuary of the modern church is 
the new scientific spirit finding its way. It has be- 
come an accepted principle of procedure among 
ministers and other church workers of late that the 
best way to save souls is not to depend wholly upon 
divine grace, but to assist this subtle power by means 
of the constructive work of many human agencies. 
Preventive measures that aim at safeguarding the 
young against evil contaminations, the institution of 
social improvement organizations and of literary and 
economic clubs, the formation of good-fellowship 
societies, of societies for conducting social surveys, 
of committees for giving vocational guidance and for 
the administration of spiritual healing — these and 
numerous endeavors of the same class give evidence 
of the great service which the modern church is 
rendering young humanity. And all this splendid 
work is being carried forward without doing any 
violence to the essential doctrines of the great his- 
torical institution so long engaged in its serious efforts 
in behalf of human salvation. 

Final conclusion 

As a closing remark the author can only express 
again his belief that no past age ever held out such 
inspiring hope and such splendid encouragement to 
the many parents who appreciate the needs of intelli- 



320 Conclusion, and Future Outlook 

gent care and training for their children. And be- 
cause of the natural advantages of the surroundings, 
country parents have the greatest justification of all 
for being enthusiastic over the outlook. Now, let 
them go patiently and reverently at the work of 
bringing up for the service of the world a magnifi- 
cent race of men and women — men who have brain 
and brawn and moral courage and religious devotion ; 
women who have a profound sense of maternal re- 
sponsibility, an inspiring superiority over the per- 
plexing duties of the household, a deep and far- 
reaching social sympathy, and such a poise and sub- 
limity of thought as to reveal the divinity inherent in 
their characters. For lo ! In the hidden depths of 
the natures of the common boys and girls there lie 
slumbering these splendid possibilities ! 

REFERENCES 

The Meaning of Social Science. Albion W. Small. University of Chi- 
cago Press. An epoch-making book, restating ably the general 
problem of social reconstruction. 

Report of Committee on Rural Social Problems, National Conference 
Charities and Corrections. Address Porter R. Lee, Sec'y for Or- 
ganizing Charity, Philadelphia, Pa. 

Annual Report Association for Study and Prevention of Infant Mortality, 
1211 Cathedral Street, Baltimore. 

Government Report on Children as Wage-earners. Department of 
Commerce and Labor, Washington, D.C. This department is 
bringing out nineteen volumes in all, each covering a particular 
problem of women and children as wage-earners. The following are 
especially related to the subject matter of this chapter : — 



Literature on Social Work 321 

The Beginnings of Child Labor Legislation in Certain States; 

A Comparative Study. 
Conditions under which Children leave School to go to Work. 
Juvenile Delinquency and its Relation to Employment. 
Causes of Death among Women and Child Cotton Mill Operatives. 
Family Budgets of Typical Cotton Mill Workers. 
Hook Worm Disease among Cotton Mill Operatives. 
Employment of Women and Children in Selected Industries. 
Reports and Circulars National Christian League for Promotion 
of Purity, 5 East 12th Street, New York. 
Annual Report of National Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1911. 
Charities Publication Committee, New York. See this valuable vol- 
ume for reports of progress in the different lines of child- welfare effort. 
The White Slave Traffic. Outlook, July 16, 1910. 
The Rockefeller Grand Jury Report of White Slave Traffic. McClure, 

May, August, 1910. 
Moral Research in Social and Economic Problems. G. Connell. West- 
minster Review, February, 1910. 
My Lesson from the Juvenile Court., Judge Ben. B. Lindsey. Survey, 
Feb. 5, 1910. 



INDEX 



Acquired characters, not trans- 
missible, 7. 

Agricultural education, money 
value of, 286. 

Agriculture, as a rural school sub- 
ject, 120 ff. 

Anger, a healthful instinct, 16; 
right treatment of, 17 f. 

Aristocracy, fostered in the schools, 
103, 104. 

Bank account, necessary for boys, 

223. 
Bill, Arthur J., 231. 
Boardman, John R., advocate of 

rural play, 156. 
Books, for children, how to choose, 

74 ; a selected list, 75 ff . ; on 

child-rearing, 79, 80. 
Boys, bad companionships for, 

202 f. 
Boy Scouts Movement, 311. 
Boy Scouts, Professor Holton's 

definition of, 165 ; how to 

organize, 165 f. ; in Kansas, 

166 ff. 
Boys leave the farm, why, 62, 63. 
Bread-making clubs, 150 f. 
Bread-winning, cultural, 3. 
Building site, suited to children, 68. 
Business career, instinct for, 24. 
Business, training for farm boy, 

220 ff . ; finding the boy's interest 

in, 221 f. ; dealing fair with the 

boy in, 225. 
Butterfield, President Kenyon L. 

149, 161. 

Character-building, agencies of, 
26 ff . ; must go on with schooling, 
90 f . ; requires religious training, 
94. 

Chicago Vice Commission, 317. 



Child-rearing, rural, 90 ff. 

Children's hour, recommended for 
evening, 67. 

Children's room, good illustration 
of, 64 f. 

Child study, a necessity, 308 ff . 

Cigarettes, law against, in Kansas, 
318. 

College education, for farm boy, 
283 f. 

Compulsory education, now gene- 
ral, 251. 

Consolidation of rural schools, 
illustrated, 109, 123. 

Cornell University, model rural 
school, 115 ff. 

Cornell University, 286. 

Corn-plowing, may be divine call- 
ing, 98. 

Corn-raising clubs, 150 f. 

Corn Sunday, in rural church, 95. 

Country boy, the right schooling 
for, 250 ff . ; his interest in hu- 
manity, 259 ; must know cur- 
rent affairs, 260. 

Country church at Plainfield, 111., 
87; at Ogden, Kan., 87, 92; 
Commission management of, 88 ; 
too narrow, 92 ; as social center, 
94 ff. ; at Danbury, N. H., 96 ; 
at Lincoln, Vt., 96; federated 
society in, 96. 

Country dwelling, its relation to 
juvenile character, 64 ff. ; plan 
it for the children, 66, 57. 

Country girl, business training for, 
255 ff. ; why she leaves home, 
236 f . ; rules for training in busi- 
ness, 239 ; not to be a money- 
maker, 247 ; earning money in 
the South, 249 ; schooling for, 
262 ff. ; to be taught music, 
265 f. ; vocation for, 290 ff. 



323 



324 



Index 



Country Life Commission, 42 f., 
148. 

Country mother, as teacher, 268 ; 
report of Country Life Commis- 
sion, 42 ; conservation of her 
energies, 44 ff . ; conspiring with 
the children, 51 f. 

Country school, to be redirected, 
152 ff. 

Crying, good for infants, 14. 

Dance, usually degrading, 164 ; 
hard to control, 211 f. 

Department of Agriculture, 148. 

Dickens, Professor Albert, 110 f. 

Disease, relation to habit, 3 ; avoid- 
ance of by care, 3. 

Domestic economy, for girls, 298 f . ; 
in the rural school, 122. 

Exhibitions, by rural Y.M.C.A., 
139 f. 

Fairchild, Supt. E. T., 108 f., 118. 
Farm barn, not to be better than 

the dwelling, 62. 
Farmer's Voice, 60, 73. 
Farm girls, danger of overworking, 

182 f. ; working in the field, 188 ; 

sometimes misjudged, 190 f. ; 

work schedule difficult to make, 

191 ; and self-supremacy, 192 f. ; 

social companions for, 201. 
Fear, nature and purpose of, 18, 19. 
Federation for country life in 

Illinois, 161 f. 

Good health, fundamental to devel- 
opment, 3. 
Good life, definition, 2. 

Hall, Dr. G. Stanley, 309. 
Happiness, a part of the good life, 

6 ; how obtained, 6. 
High school, rural provisions for, 

124 f. 
Holton, Professor E. L. on Boy 

Scouts, 165. 
Home conveniences, necessity for 

farm women, 47. 



Home life education, 270. 

Home sanitation, in the rural 

school, 122. 
"Homing" instinct, 22. 
House help, training the children 

for, 49. 
Human stock, mostly sound, 7, 8 ; 

potentially good, 9. 
Humble parentage and leadership, 9. 

Instincts, of children to be studied, 
310 ; two are fundamental, 12 ; 
related to impulse, 14 ; for home 
life, 23 ; for business, 24. 

James, Professor William, 300. 

Kansas, Rural Boy Scouts in, 166 
ff . ; a boy genius of, 227. 

Kansas State Agricultural College, 
165. 

Kirk, President John R., quoted, 
112 f. 

Leadership, of farmer and wife, 
146 ff . ; preparation for, 148 ; 
in Y.M.C.A., 133 f. 

Library, for neighborhood in farm 
home, 155. 

Literary Digest, 73. 

Literature, purpose of in country 
home, 69 f. ; best adapted to the 
child, 71, 72; types of, 72 f . ; 
on child-rearing, 79. 

Marriage, planning for the daugh- 
ter's, 291 f. ; to be studied, 300 ff. 
training the girl for, 20, 21. 

McNutt, Rev. M. B., and his work, 
86, 87 ; church built by, 87. 

Mendel's law, and human inherit- 
ance, 8. 

Minister, of city should preach 
in the country, 85 ; a country 
type, 86 ff. 

Moral strength, an aim in character- 
building, 4 ; acquired through 
trial and error, 4. 

Mothers' club, organization of, 
160 f. 



Index 



325 



" Mother's hour," recommended, 46. 
Moving to town, to educate the 

children, 36 ; how it affects the 

farmer, 36, 37. 

National Corn Exhibit, 230. 

Native ability, three classes of, 
251 ff . ; how stimulus and oppor- 
tunity assist, 253. 

Newspaper, kind for the farmer, 73. 

Occupations for women, 293 ff. 
Oklahoma Agricultural College, 
work at county fair, 229. 

Play, growing interest in, 27, 28 ; 
practical uses of, 28 ff. ; an 
excellent set of materials for, 29 ; 
sharply distinguished from work, 
31 ; after Sunday School, 97 ; 
neighborhood center for, 159. 

Play apparatus, model in farm 
home, 154. 

Playground, apparatus for, 118 ff. ; 
for home and school, 154 f. 

Playground Association of Amer- 
ica, 155, 316. 

Population, decrease in country, 83. 

Prohibitory law, in Kansas, 318. 

Psychological clinic, 265. 

Recreation, meaning of misunder- 
stood, 33 ; how related to farm 
work, 34 ff. ; for rural youth, 139. 

Religion, the new era in, 319; 
interest in a part of life, 5. 

Review of Reviews, 73. 

Rural manhood, 148, 156. 

Rural school, changes in view- 
point of, 102 ; to serve all, 103 f . ; 
compulsory attendance upon, 
106 ; model at Kirksville, 112. 

Rural schoolhouse, better ones 
needed, 107; location of, 108; 
in Kansas, 105 ; model at Cor- 
nell, 115. 

Saloons, a menace to boys, 206 f . 
School grounds, size and adoption 
of, 109. 



School playground, 117 ff. 

Sex evils, to be studied, 317. 

Sex habits, secret, 204. 

Sex instinct, as socializing agency, 
199. 

Sexual love, instructive and ex- 
tremely helpful, 20 ; necessity of 
careful treatment, 20 ff. 

Smoking, bad for boys, 205 f. 

Social democracy, fostered by 
training, 4. 

Social efficiency, training for, 5. 

Social entertainment, how to con- 
duct, 209 f. ; several forms of, 
211 ff. 

Social renaissance, in the country, 
199. 

Social sensitiveness, a form of 
fear, 18 ; great value in training, 
19, 20. 

Social training of farm youths, 
197 ff. ; in economic clubs, 215 ; 
a working plan for, 198 ff. ; based 
on sex instinct, 199 ; menaces 
to, 200 ff. ; in ideal country 
home, 208. 

Social training schools, 314. 

Social work, for girls, 295 f. 

Solitude, a means of culture, 35. 

Stenography, for girls, 294. 

Teaching, hard on young women, 

203. 
Tuberculosis, is it inheritable? 8, 

9. 

University of Pennsylvania, 309. 
Usefulness, as ideal of education, 3. 

Vacations, based on instincts and 

desires, 163, 226. 
Vacations, necessity of providing 

for, 176 f. ; a father's plan for, 

177 f. 
Vocation, for farm boy, 275 ff. ; 

should it be farming, 275 ; go 

slow in choosing, 276 f. ; three 

methods of training for, 279 f . ; 

preparation of farm girl for, 

289 ff. 



326 



Index 



Vocational schools, in the South, 
229 f. 

Wallaces' Fanner, 43, 44, 73. 

Waters, President H. J., 127. 

Wealth, not evidence of substantial 
country society, 84. 

Witmer, Dr. Lightner, 309. 

Women, occupations for, 291 ff. 

Work, as basis of society, 171 ff.; 
for the boy's sake, 172 f. ; wrong 
attitude of workmen toward, 
174 ; a father's method of train- 
ing boy for, 175 f. ; a schedule 
of hours for, 178 ff . ; how much 



for the girl, 183 ff. ; foundation 
for vocation, 285 ; necessary 
as discipline, 30, 31 ; not liked 
by natural children, 31 ; ac- 
quired fondness for, 32 ; a part 
of the good school course, 33 ; 
spiritualized by country church, 
98. 
World's Work, 73. 

Y.M.C.A., rural, 129 ff . ; pur- 
poses of, 131 ; how to organize, 
132 ff. ; leader for, 133 f . ; how 
to conduct, 136; example of rural 
in Kansas, 143 f. 



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